NZ cyclist knocked unconscious in Belgian crash

New Zealand cyclist Jack Bauer was left lying motionless on the road after a crash during a one-day race in Belgium, reports 3 News. The 27-year-old Garmin-Sharp rider fell 58km from the finish of the 199.7km Dwars door Vlaanderen race in Flanders. Television footage showed him lying face down still clipped into his pedals. Officials raced to unclip Bauer, who competed at the London Olympics, and he was taken to hospital in Oudenaarde before being discharged. “We were pretty scared in the car when we saw he was injured,” Garmin-Sharp sporting director Geert Van Bondt told the Cyclingnews website. Team doctor Kevin Sprouse said Bauer had been knocked out but had a good recollection of events before and after the incident.  “It’s a very good sign,” he explained. “He’s in great spirits, the doctors at the hospital saw him and released him fairly quickly, convinced that he’s doing really well. It all looks very good considering how dramatic it looked on TV.” Sprouse said it was too early to say whether Bauer had been concussed. “That is a difficult diagnosis to make quickly,” he said. “We actually don’t distinguish between mild, moderate, and severe concussions anymore –either you have one or not and the symptoms can develop twenty-four hours later, so it’s kind of an observational period at this point. He doesn’t show any signs of concussion but that can certainly change as the adrenaline wears off and he gets back. Should he develop any symptoms we’ll monitor for those.” Italian Oscar Gatto won the race after overhauling a late breakaway from France’s Thomas Voeckler in the closing stages.