Caroline Ryan (Cunga Bikes) preparing to get some road miles in recently
National time trial champion Caroline Ryan has been hospitalised at the World Cup track meeting in Kazakhstan after coming down heavily in the points race, the second of six events in the omnium.
Ryan crash very heavily in the event on Saturday evening, sustaining injuries that forced her out of the meeting.
She did not start the elimination race, the last of three omnium events down for decision on Saturday. That meant she was excluded from the remaining three events today, Sunday.
Ryan, riding in Astana for her trade team Cunga Bikes, was taken to hospital from the Astana track after her spill.
Her most serious injury appears to have been a splinter from the wooden track that became embedded in her thigh.
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She had that removed in the hospital and also required a number of stitches before being discharged.
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Cunga Bikes team co-owner David O’Loughlin said Ryan was “sore but well”.
Ryan herself was upbeat after her fall.
“I heal quickly, I’m looking forward to Cali already,” she said referring to the next World Cup meeting in Colombia in December.
Ryan’s spill was the latest incident in a disaster-filled trip to Astana for the Irish contingent.
The women’s team pursuiters failed to finish their event last Thursday after one of the trio, Ciara Horne, punctured halfway through the race due to a splinter from the track.
The team – which also included Ryan and Sinead Jennings – was not allowed to start again because they had already made one false start.
Martyn Irvine was on Friday disqualified from the men’s omnium in a harsh judging decision following his failure to pull out of the action as fast as the judges would have liked once he was eliminated from the elimination race.
Cycling Ireland appealed that decision but the judges didn’t back down, forcing Irvine to sit out the remaining three omnium events yesterday.
