Tour spectator awakes from coma

The spectator who was injured after being struck by Patrik Sinkewitz (T-Mobile) in a freak accident after Sunday's Stage 8 has come out of a coma, the hospital has announced. The 78 year-old spectator, who hasn't been identified, was airlifted to hospital after Sinkewitz collided with him while returning to the team's hotel.

"The patient has a serious head injury, but his life is not in danger," read a statement from the hospital in Grenoble.

The accident sidelined Sinkewitz from the remainder of the Tour, another blow to the German squad on a day which saw team leader Michael Rogers crash out. Sinkerwitz suffered a broken nose, in addition to a shoulder and cuts and bruises from the accident. "I think it needs to be looked at...what contributed to the situation," T-Mobile manager Bob Stapleton told AP. "This is just the difficulty of managing such a huge sporting event."