The men’s field rolls out for the Inner Loop stage (Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
The second stage of the men's Tour of the Gila was marred by a number of crashes on the steep, narrow descent to Sapillo Creek 45km into the stage. Canyon Bicycle's Anthony Canevari, who was sitting second in the sprint classification after making the breakaway on stage 1, was the worst injured. He was transported from the scene and airlifted to El Paso, Texas where he was diagnosed with a broken pelvis.
Mike Pratt, the Canyon team's director, explained to Cyclingnews what happened.
"[Canevari] was working his way through the caravan [and] went through a tight corner on a narrow road decent. [He] got squeezed by a car and high-sided into a rocky embankment. His teammate Pat Casey was with him a few wheels back. Pat stopped to render aid. He realized it was serious."
The ambulance following the race quickly arrived and transported Canevari from the scene, and then arranged for his transport to El Paso, where he will need to undergo surgery.
His teammate Casey dropped out of the race, giving up his opportunity to finish his first Tour of the Gila to stay with his teammate.
Team Smartstop's Julian Kyer also went down and suffered a broken collarbone. Angus Morton (Jelly Belly) also crashed but continued on and finished 14:23 down suffering only bruises and road rash.
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Laura Weislo has been with Cyclingnews since 2006 after making a switch from a career in science. As Managing Editor, she coordinates coverage for North American events and global news. As former elite-level road racer who dabbled in cyclo-cross and track, Laura has a passion for all three disciplines. When not working she likes to go camping and explore lesser traveled roads, paths and gravel tracks. Laura specialises in covering doping, anti-doping, UCI governance and performing data analysis.
