The peloton at the 1959 Tour de France, where Brian Robinson powered to victory in stage 20 (Image credit: AFP)
Former Tour de France rider, Brian Robinson has been hit by a car on a training ride in his native Yorkshire. The 83-year-old former Tour de France yellow jersey wearer, crashed and suspectedly broke his collarbone, his son-in-law Martyn Bolt told the BBC.
"He was descending a road in Thornhill Lees, Yorkshire, when the collision happened. He has suffered multiple bruises and lacerations and what looks like a broken collar bone," Bolt said. "We don't know how long he will be in hospital for, but we are hoping he will be back on his bike before too long."
Robinson was the first British rider to finish the Tour de France, doing so in 1955. Three years later he won the seventh stage in the race from Saint-Brieuc to Brest. Robinson was the first to win a stage in the race. In 1959 he repeated that performance by winning the 20th stage from Annecy to Chalon-sur-Saône. In 1961 he was the first British rider to win the overall classification in the Criterium du Dauphiné.
The Yorkshire born rider was an ambassador for the Tour de France start this year in Leeds. Bolt hopes that, despite his father-in-law's age of 83, he'll be back on the bike soon after he spent the night in hospital. "He likes to go out twice a week to keep fit and spend time with his friend. Inactivity is not something that sits well with him."
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