This is all that was left of the frame of Corey Colliers’ bicycle after a high-speed pileup about 40 miles into Stage 3 of the Tour de Georgia on Wednesday.
Colliers, of Health Net-Maxxis, was one of three riders in the crash, on a fast downhill going onto a bridge over the Broad River. Colliers and Ben Day of Toyota-United returned to the peloton, but Timmy Duggan of Slipstream-Chipotle left via ambulance and was hospitalized with what’s been called a “pretty severe concussion,” as well as a broken clavical and scapula. He’s sedated and in stable condition at a hospital in Athens, Ga.
For Duggan’s teammates, as well as the other riders in the peloton, the crash and the uncertainty in the aftermath made for a long day in the saddle on the 109-mile stage.
“It’s pretty rough,” Slipstream-Chipotle’s Tyler Farrar said. “We were really worried. We were on the radio back with (team manager) Chann McRae just trying to get news. We had no idea. We saw him laying on the ground and that was it. We got word throughout the race, updates.”
The fact that Duggan had a head injury was sobering for the riders.
“It’s scary, you know,” Farrar said. “Any head trauma’s scary. Broken bones are broken bones, but head trauma is different. We’re really thinking about him a lot.”
As for the rest of the race, Farrar said the team would be OK tactically, but concern for Duggan won’t be far from their minds.
“All we’re worried about is him,” Farrar said. “His family is on their way out from Colorado, We’ll have to wait and see.”
Duggan’s been a member of Slipstream since it’s debut four years ago. Earlier Wednesday he had filed an update for the team’s “behind the scenes” report from the TdG.
As to how the crash occurred, Colliers told cyclingnews.com that his front wheel became wedged in a seam in the road, stopping the bike and sending him over the handlebars. Duggan then ran into him.
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