Lifeplus-Wahoo’s Kate Richardson is out of the Tour of Britain Women after being knocked off her bike by a hit-and-run driver this week.
The 21-year-old from Glasgow took to Instagram to share details of the shocking incident which left her with multiple nasty injuries.
"Yesterday morning I was hit by a car from behind whilst out on a training ride resulting in a refractured scapula, an incredibly bruised and swollen right hip and plenty more road rash to add to last week’s collection," she wrote.
"Whilst racing incidents are never nice, we know that unfortunately they sometimes come with the territory. Even when not at fault we have no choice but to accept them and move on. This however, is incredibly hard to accept. It just should never have happened. There are far too many stories about cyclists being hit by cars whilst out training and there is absolutely no excusing it."
"In this case, I was on a narrow single track road, no more than 3m wide, on a blind bend and clearly the driver couldn’t wait 10 more seconds to overtake me," she continued. "He decided to try and squeeze his huge 4x4 past me at a high speed, hitting me hard and knocking me off my bike.
"Initially, he just drove on but turned around and came back later to verbally abuse and threaten me before getting back in his car and driving off again. Thankfully another driver came across the scene pretty quickly and kindly helped me up and drove me home."
Richardson confirmed to Cycling Weekly that she had reported the incident to South Yorkshire Police who are now looking into it.
"This of course means no Tour of Britain this week and I’m currently uncertain about what the rest of the season holds," Richardson added. "This is a lot more than just a physical injury, it was incredibly scary and I count myself lucky that I walked away relatively unscathed compared to what it could have been.
"Mentally though, it will take a while to overcome. Knowing that once again I’ll be missing a key racing block, whilst knowing what sort of shape I’ve worked so hard to be in, is hugely disappointing and hard to get my head around.
"I’d say that normally I’m good at dealing with these types of situations, but with this being my 4th serious crash in under a year, my body and my mind is in need of some rest and recovery before thinking about returning to competition.
"The police are dealing with the incident, and with witnesses and potential CCTV footage I’m hopeful that some sort of justice will prevail."
The 21-year-old had proven herself to be in strong form so far this season. Richardson won the women’s edition of the Lincoln Grand Prix last month. Prior to that, she claimed her first two national titles in the individual and team pursuit at the British National Track Championships in February.
Richardson is not the first professional to be hit off their bike by a driver this year. Back in April Bora-Hansgrohe’s Lennard Kämna was left in intensive care after being struck by a car driver during a training ride in Tenerife.
Kämna spent a month in hospital while he recovered.
Cycling Weekly has approached South Yorkshire Police for comment in relation to this story.
