Race leader returns to team hotel after hospital examinations
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Paddy Bevin is banged up at the finish of stage 5 at the Tour Down Under(Image credit: Getty Images)
Daryl Impey checks on Patrick Bevin after stage 5 at the Tour Down Under(Image credit: Getty Images)
Patrick Bevin gets another day in the leader's jersey(Image credit: Getty Images)
Patrick Bevin gets some work done after stage 4(Image credit: Tim de Waele/Getty Images)
Patrick Bevin wins stage 2 at the Tour Down Under(Image credit: Tim de Waele/Getty Images)
Patrick Bevin (CCC Team) will carry on racing in this year's Tour Down Under – subject to a concussion test on Sunday morning – after a heavy fall that almost cost him his place in the race. The overall leader fell during the final 10 kilometres of stage 5 on Saturday and after quickly remounting was paced back to the peloton with the aid of his team car and teammates.
Rivals from the Mitchelton-Scott team also looked to slow the bunch in order to give Bevin the best chance of making contact, and Bevin eventually finished safely in the bunch before being taken to hospital where he was diagnosed with cuts and bruised ribs.
Depending on Sunday-morning medical checks, he will start the final stage of the race and look to defend his overall lead of seven seconds over last year's winner Daryl Impey (Mitchelton-Scott).
"It was such a nervous stage and there was a battle for position all day. All it took was a touch of wheels and I went down. I'm pretty banged up right now but I really hope that I will be able to line up tomorrow. Fortunately, nothing is broken so we will see how I pull up in the morning," Bevin said.
CCC Team issued a medical update once Bevin returned to the race hotel. The rider spent several hours in hospital.
"Patrick was taken to Calvary Wakefield Hospital in Adelaide where he underwent X-rays and CT scans to determine his injuries," team doctor Piotr Kosielski said in a statement.
"Fortunately, he did not break any bones and had no internal injuries. However, he has extensive bruising and abrasions all over his body. Although the CT scan did not show signs of any head injuries, our main concern is concussion, which is why we want to wait until tomorrow morning, when we will perform a concussion test, before making the final decision as to whether Patrick can line up tomorrow. We will continue to monitor his condition overnight."
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Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.
