A Stirling area cycling champion has been left nursing a broken pelvis in hospital after being knocked from her bike in a hit-and-run whilst on a training ride this week.
Time trial specialist Christina Mackenzie was struck by a large vehicle towing a farming trailer on a busy stretch of road near Kippen on Tuesday evening.
The incident occurred at around 5pm on the B822 – at the Kippen roundabout.
Christina – a member of Stirling Bike Club – was out on a training ride in preparation for two races this weekend – the women’s veterans national championships and Tour of the Trossachs.
The 45-year-old, who moved to Stirling from Stornoway in 2016, is understood to have been approaching the roundabout from the direction of Stirling. An eyewitness said that she indicated to turn right with her arm and moved to the right hand side of the carriageway. It was at that point that a vehicle, believed to have been an SUV type car, came up her inside, colliding with her before the trailer it was towing also hit her, knocking her onto the ground.
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As Christina lay by the roadside in agony, with what was later diagnosed as a broken pelvis, the car sped away, failing to stop to check on the rider and exchange details.
Christina remains in hospital where she is set to go under the knife to repair the badly damaged pelvis.
A friend, who had been on the horror training ride at the time, said: “The following motorists and a bus driver stopped and rendered excellent assistance to Christina before the emergency services arrived.”
In a Facebook post, they said: “She’s currently in hospital having sustained a broken pelvis, amongst other injuries. The driver of the vehicle had attempted to undertake her with the vehicle initially striking her before the trailer wiped her out completely.”
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We were called around 5.05pm on Tuesday, September 27, to a report of a crash involving a cyclist and a car towing a trailer which failed to stop on the B822 at the Kippen roundabout, Stirling.
“The cyclist, a 45-year-old woman, was taken to Forth Valley Royal Hospital for treatment.
“Enquiries are ongoing to trace the driver and anyone with information that could help, including dash-cam footage, is asked to contact Police Scotland.
Anyone with information should contact police on 101, quoting incident number 2444 of Tuesday, September 27.
Christina holds the LEJOG and NC500 world records and is the national 12 hour time trial holder, among a long list of other achievements.
In May this year, we told how Christina was on the roads again for a second gruelling effort across the north of Scotland. She made history last July when she completed the 839-mile cross-country journey from Land’s End to John o’Groats in 51 hours, five minutes and 27 seconds.
However, after that massive achievement, the Cambusbarron cyclist decided to put another record in her sights – aiming to become the fastest woman in history to cycle the scenic North Coast 500 route, which she achieved.
