Taylor Phinney crashed on a training ride near his home in Lucca, Italy, on Friday. The BMC rider suffered a mild concussion when colliding with Andrew Talansky (Garmin-Cervélo). Phinney is said to be OK, but will be closely monitored for the next 48 hours by team doctor Max Testa.
Phinney described how he and fellow American Talansky crossed wheels while making a turn. "We kind of got jumbled. It was a freak accident," Phinney said. "The next thing we knew, we found ourselves flipping over our bikes and onto the ground. All I remember was smacking my head pretty hard."
Phinney was able to ride home before undergoing a remote medical examination from Testa. "We did some simple tests for balance and coordination over Skype, which he passed," Testa said. "Now we're just monitoring him closely."
The program for the weekend will be decided pending the development of Phinney's state. "If he's feeling OK on Saturday, we'll see if he can spin on the trainer without developing a headache and then we'll go from there. We will need some time to fully evaluate the extent of the crash and then we'll make a decision on how to organize his training and racing."
Phinney has already had a lot of problems with his knee this winter. The crash also put him behind Philippe Gilbert, who was able to avoid disaster not far from Phinney at almost the same time.