US national champion Timmy Duggan is facing several weeks away from racing after a heavy fall on today’s third stage of the Santos Tour Down Under in Adelaide. The Team Saxo Tinkoff rider hit the deck on the finishing circuit and was unable to continue the race, being treated at the scene and then going to hospital afterwards.
“It was two kilometres to go on the circuit with two laps to go on the round-about, he was on the right side,” his directeur sportif Fabrizio Guidi said shortly after the stage. “The doctor was immediately there, that was good. He was conscious and he was talking before they took him to the hospital.”
He said at the time he was unsure what the damage was but later updated the situation. “He's been examined at the nearest hospital and x-rays showed fracture on his collarbone, so he'll be out of competition for a while. Sad to see him leave like this in his debut for the team.”
Duggan thanked people for their concern via Twitter, and confirmed the collarbone injury. He also said that he got stitches to a deep wound in his elbow, but was otherwise relatively okay.
The 30 year old Boulder rider had his best season to date in 2012, performing strongly for his Liquigas Cannondale team in the Tour of California, then returning to the US and winning the national championships there. He was also fifth on a stage of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge.
He was initially due to compete for Team Spidertech C10 in 2013 but when that team collapsed, he completed a late switch over to Team Saxo Tinkoff.