Renshaw fractures pelvis after being hit by car

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Mark Renshaw (Dimension Data) will have to sit out the start of the season after fracturing pelvis when he was hit by a car while out training near his home in Bathurst, Australia.

Renshaw was back at home in Australia after Dimension Data’s training camp in South Africa late last month. He was scheduled to start his season at the Australian National Championships in Ballarat at the beginning of next month. However, his injury is such that he will be sidelined for three-four months.

“I was heading back out on the road for the final two hours of my five-hour training ride and as I entered the roundabout the car looked like it was going to stop, I assume the driver didn’t see me and I hit the front right of the car and flew over the bonnet, landing heavily on my pelvis,” Renshaw explained on Dimension Data’s website. “I’m not sure if the impact with the car or the ground caused my injury’s but it was definitely a scary moment as you now realize it could have been much worse.

“I’m devastated that my pre-season training will be hampered as I was planning a big start to 2019. I returned from our training camp super motivated for next season and I was already into serious training for January’s racing. It’s gutting to have another set-back but as hospital staff have told me, it could have been much worse then what it was.”

Renshaw had his 2018 spring campaign disrupted after he had to have surgery to treat chronic sinusitis. It resulted in him spending four days in hospital in the build-up to the Tour de Yorkshire, which he abandoned on the final day.

The 2018 season was a hugely challenging one in terms of injuries and illness for the Dimension Data team. Their star rider Mark Cavendish suffered a series of high-speed accidents in February and March, which saw him fracture two ribs and suffer a concussion. Following his abandon at the Tour de France, Cavendish was diagnosed with Epstein Barr Virus for the second time and was forced to sit out the remainder of the season.

Bernard Eisel was involved in an accident with another team’s vehicle during Tirreno-Adriatico and broke his wrist. A month later, doctors discovered that he had a subdural haematoma. Julian Vermote was also involved in a crash with the same team’s vehicle at the Tour of Flanders and dislocated his shoulder.

Meanwhile, Scott Thwaites fractured several vertebrae when he was hit by a truck during a training ride. Serge Pauwels fractured his elbow in a finish line crash at the Tour de France, Mekseb Debesay fractured his pelvis at the Tour de Langkawi and Reinardt Janse van Rensburg missed much of the first half of the season with a groin injury. Rising star Ben O’Connor looked like he might give the team something to cheer about at the Giro d’Italia but he crashed out on stage 19 and broke his collarbone.

The team is hoping to get back on track and have been busy in the transfer window with Michael Valgren, Giacomo Nizzolo and Roman Kreuziger among their intake for 2019.