Top gravel racer Ivar Slik sustained severe injuries while in the United States on Tuesday.
The 30-year-old Dutchman, who is in the US to compete in the Unbound gravel race, after a collision with a car. Slik was transported to the hospital unconscious.
Since then, his condition has improved, according to training partner Jasper Ockeloen. Ockeloen is also stateside.
“Some bad news from the states. Yesterday our friend Ivar crashed into a car during a joint training ride around Betonville. He was transported to the hospital unconscious. There it was found that he had suffered several injuries. A severe concussion, a broken nose, a small crack in his skull and a lot of dents, scrapes and cuts,” the Instagram story read. “In the meantime, he is doing well under the circumstances and the doctors are positive. He’s conscious, he’s talking, and he’s moving his whole body. But he will be kept in the hospital for the next few days anyway so they can monitor him. We are very happy with all the (professional) help he gets and has received. He is not reachable and will not be on his bike for the time being.”
The first non-American winner had planned to take on this year’s event
Slik had intentions to tackle the 2024 edition of Unbound. In 2022, the Dutch athlete became the first non-American to win the famous race. In fact, he set a record for the fastest time ever recorded in the gravel race: completing it in 9 hours and 22 minutes.
Unbound takes place May 30 – June 2.
Note: In this instance, we have used the phrasing ‘collision with a car,’ as this is our understanding of how the crash occurred. If a motorist had hit the rider, we would have chosen different language to describe the incident. Furthermore, if more details suggest it was a driver that caused the collision, we will change the wording accordingly.
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Canadian Cycling Magazine…