Stefan Küng (Switzerland) suffered a heavy crash during the elite men’s time trial at the UEC European Road Championships on Wednesday, running into the barriers as the road narrowed and landing heavily in the closing kilometres of the 29.8-kilometre course in Emmen.
Küng appeared to be fighting the wind and had his head down as he headed into a section where the barriers were placed diagonally across the road to direct riders onto the other side of the median. He clipped the feet of the metal barriers and fell, nearly being hit by the television motorbike following him.
There appeared to be no team or medical car following riders, so Küng remounted and finished the race before being cleaned up and checked under the UCI’s concussion protocol.
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The 29-year-old was a vision of horror as he came out of the tunnel into the finishing straight with the front of his helmet in pieces, his face, chest and shoulders spattered with blood.
Even with the crash, Küng finished in ninth place behind winner Josh Tarling (Great Britain).
The UCI enacted a concussion protocol in 2021 after Frenchman Romain Bardet crashed during the previous year’s Tour de France and, despite being barely able to stand, finished the stage and was later diagnosed with a cerebral hemorrhage, a condition that can be life-threatening.
Riders are supposed to be assessed before continuing to race if they’ve broken their helmet or have suffered a crash that could have caused a concussion.
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