The Russian RusVelo team faces the possibility that it will lose the services of one of its riders, Ivan Kovalev, as the result of a hit and run accident in Australia.
The 25 year old is in Sydney as part of the buildup for next week’s world track championships, which will be held in Melbourne.
He trained in the Dunc Gray Velodrome yesterday and afterwards was on his bike outside. He was hit by a fast-driving car then, being thrown over the bonnet and injuring his head and shoulder in the crash.
The driver did not stop, but was located within an hour after police were alerted. Kovalev was treated at the scene and then taken to hospital, where a more thorough analysis was done.
The full extent of his injuries are still being determined, and RusVelo states that it is too soon to know if he will miss the world championships or not. Kovalev was due to ride the team pursuit as part of the squad.
The Russians are considered contenders for a medal. Kovalev was part of the team which was runner-up to Australia in the team pursuit in last year’s worlds. They finished ahead of Great Britain.
Since then he, Evgeny Kovalev, Alexei Markov and Alexander Serov have won World Cup races in Astana and Beijing. He was also third in the European track championships.
Kovalev is also a good road rider, clocking up several top ten results in last year’s Tour de Qinghai Lake and finishing second overall in the Tour of China.
The world track championships begin next Wednesday, April 4th, and run for five days.