German asks for patience from drivers: 'We all just have one life'
Rick Zabel (Katusha-Alpecin) in a reflective mood (Image credit: Laura Fletcher / cassettemedia.com)
Katusha-Alpecin's Rick Zabel was shaken but escaped serious injury after a collision with a car while out training in his home region of Germany on Monday.
The 24-year-old described the incident on Instagram, and begged for drivers to have more patience.
"Today in training I had an accident with a car. It started as a normal training day with other cyclists from my region like Lucas Liss or Aaron Grosser, but then after a bit more than four hours I crashed into a car at a small crossing," Zabel wrote.
"It all happened on my home roads which I use every day and it was the first time I experienced something like this. I was very lucky today, no big injuries, but I‘m still in shock and I realized how fast these things can happen."
Zabel said he was taken to the hospital by ambulance, but did not have any serious injuries.
He's one of many riders to have been hit by a driver this year - Petr Vakoc just returned to riding outdoors today after being knocked down by a driver in January. George Bennett (LottoNl-Jumbo) was hit before the Tour of the Alps in April. Lachlan Morton (Dimension Data) was injured in a collision with a driver in Colorado last month.
In the past year, Michele Scarponi and Jason Lowndes each lost their lives after being hit by drivers while training.
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"I really ask every cyclist, car driver, bus driver, motorcyclist or just in general everybody who‘s part of the daily traffic to have more respect for each other and better wait three seconds more than to take any risks, it‘s not worth it. We all just have one life," Zabel said.
