Dario Cataldo suffers broken femur in Volta a Catalunya crash
Multiple injuries for Italian but no 'neurological impact' from spinal fractures, Italian to undergo surgery
Dario Cataldo will undergo surgery to fix a broken femur suffered in a high-speed crash during the final kilometres of stage 1 of the Volta a Catalunya, Trek-Segafredo announced on Monday.
Cataldo was among the worst off in the crash that took down several riders including Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates), Michael Storer (Groupama-FDJ), Chris Hamilton (Team DSM), and Kristian Sbaragli (Alpecin-Deceuninck).
Trek-Segafredo issued a statement listing a fractured left femoral head and right hip fracture, along with two spinal fractures that fortunately did not have a neurological impact.
In addition to those serious injuries, Cataldo also suffered several broken ribs, a collapsed lung and a broken left collarbone.
The 38-year-old is conscious and stable and is due to be transferred from the local hospital to Girona, where he will undergo surgery to fix the fracture to his left femur.
A winner of stages of the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a Espana, Cataldo is a key climbing domestique for the team, having raced 25 Grand Tours. He helped teammate Giulio Ciccone to a top five in Tirreno-Adriatico, and completed Milan-San Remo on Sunday.
Although Cataldo is at the tail end of his career, he has a contract with Trek-Segafredo through 2024 but faces a long recovery from his injuries.
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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.