Sevilla Injured In Crash With Spectator

Qinghai, China — Rock Racing’s Oscar Sevilla collided with a spectator who stepped into the road to take a photo of the finishing sprint Saturday at the Tour of Qinghai Lake in China.

The high-speed crash sent Sevilla sprawling to the pavement and destroyed his bicycle. But the Spaniard did not break any bones and plans to start Stage 3 on Sunday.

“I thought for sure that he had a broken hip, clavicle and wrists,” Rock Racing Team Director Mariano Friedrick said. “He did not move for about five minutes.”

Sevilla was given the same time as the Stage 2 winner, Alex Rasmussen (Danish National Team), because the mishap occurred in the final three kilometers (1.8 miles) of the 90-mile (145 km) race.

Sevilla said he had not experienced a more painful crash in his 12 seasons as a professional.

“I’ve had many – in the Tour de France, the Vuelta a España and lots of other races, but I was always able to get up right away – even with broken bones,” Sevilla said. “But today, I’d have to say, is the worst crash ever. I had the air taken out of me and that was not a good feeling.”

Sevilla currently stands third overall, 28 seconds off the lead of Rasmussen, who won Stages 1 and 2. Sevilla finished third in the opening time trial of the race on Friday to score his 10th podium finish of the season. He has won three times this year: Stage 1 of the San Dimas Stage Race in California in March, Stage 9 of the Vuelta a Colombia in May and the Commerce Bank Reading Classic in June.

Two weeks ago, Sevilla finished second to Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d’Epargne) in the Spanish national championship race.