Peter Hawkins top of the world yesterday on the podium in Nenagh; but now out of the Rás after crashing in the yellow jersey (Photo: Paul Mohan - Sportsfile)
The leader of the An Post Rás leaving Nenagh for Listowel this morning, Peter Hawkins has been forced to abandon after coming down in a crash in Co Limerick.
The Belfast man riding for IG Sigma Sport looks like he has a broken collarbone and has been taken from the side of the road by ambulance to hospital. He had remounted after his crash and rejoined the race but was then forced to stop and medical attention summoned.
Hawkins was fourth on the stage yesterday and held a two second lead this morning on yesterday’s stage winner Shane Archbold. The Belfast man is a great climber and sprinter and had a very strong team in the race.
Advertisement
While it is still very early days in this eight-day, he told us last night he felt good and believed he would be a contender for the rest of the week for the final overall win.
Related News
He appears to have been one of a number of fallers on narrow roads near Ballyneety in Co Limerick around 80km into today's 140km stage.
The bunch was not going flat out at the time, though there was a controlled chase after three leaders when the crash happened.
At the time of writing the stage is still underway so details of the incident are a little sketchy. However, Hawkins’ race is definitely over and he seems to have some cuts to his face, though his collarbone is the most serious issue. A number of other riders who came down in that crash have also been taken off the race for hospital treatment, one with a suspected broken jaw.
That’s devastating news for Peter Hawkins, who is a regular blogger here on stickybottle. We’ve gotten to know him very well over the past season and a half since we started and he’s an absolute gentleman as well as a class act on the bike. He is tough as nails though and he will be back.
Topics
