Matty Lloyd is out
Cyclist Matt Lloyd suffers an unexpected withdrawal on ride to the bank
MATT Lloyd, one of Australia's world-class professional racing cyclists, decided to ride his bike to the bank - and woke up in an ambulance.
The former road race national champion has no idea what happened - except that it hurt.
He will have surgery today on a broken shoulder and damaged spine, injuries that will force him to miss next month's national titles in Ballarat and the Tour Down Under in Adelaide.
The freak accident is a major setback for Lloyd, 27, a highly respected specialist climber whose career is peaking.
He won a stage of this year's Tour of Italy on the way to claiming the coveted King of the Mountains title, and is now a regular in the world's toughest race, the Tour de France.
Lloyd said yesterday he could not remember whether he collided with a car or a tram or whether something hit him - and he is not blaming anyone else.
The police are not involved.
But he readily admits his battered body is testimony to the need for recreational cyclists and vehicle drivers to watch out for and respect each other, an issue that causes constant conflict on the streets of Melbourne.
The incident happened in St Kilda - Lloyd doesn't even remember exactly which street - last Friday, following an earlier training session.
"I was trying to get to the bank before it closed and the streets were busy, as they are at this time of the year," he said. "I had a few administrative things to do and I thought it would be a lot quicker to do them on the bike, but the roads aren't the most user-friendly place.
"I woke up on the way to hospital, a bit out to it, so I can't really say what happened.
"But as far as I can gather, there is no evidence of me being hit or me running into anyone else.
"It's the weirdest thing."
Lloyd added ruefully: "It's not like I was too surprised waking up in an ambulance because I have been in this situation a few times before."
That was reference to the reality that he - like all road cyclists who race at speeds not far short of 100km/h when they are descending mountains - often crash, usually with extremely painful consequences.
Lloyd seriously injured his spine after coming to grief in the Amstel Gold race in Holland early last year but recovered to take his place in that year's Tour de France, where he performed strongly.
He rides for the Belgian Omega-Pharma Lotto team, which originally hired him to do the hard work in the mountains to assist fellow Australian Cadel Evans, who was the team's star at the time.
He will be off the bike at least until February but hopes to recover in time to take his place in the Italian and French three-week marathons in May and July.
