Belgian cyclist Seff Van Kerckhove was transported to hospital after he was hit by a driver during a training ride just outside Montreal on Sunday afternoon, according to the Belgian cycling federation.
The incident left the 18-year-old unable to participate in the UCI Road World Championships happening this week in Montreal. He was slated to compete in the men’s junior individual time trial on Tuesday and in the road race on Thursday.
“The collision had a severe impact on his upper body,” said a spokesperson for Belgian Cycling, Gwendoline Gerres, in a news release.
She said he is already undergoing rehab.
“We wish him a speedy recovery.”
The federation adds it will not replace Van Kerckhove in either of the races he was scheduled to participate in.
This is the second collision the teenager has had with a car in just the last nine months. A crash in Belgium in December left Van Kerckhove with four fractured vertebrae, and he only returned to training in April.
He was a podium hopeful this week in Montreal after finishing third last year in the world junior men’s time trial in Rwanda.
Van Kerckhove’s brother Matisse, who’s also competing in Montreal in the U23 time trial, spoke to a Belgian newspaper about the incident.
“From what I understand, a car suddenly drove across the street, presumably to turn onto a driveway,” the brother told Het Laatste Nieuws. “The driver of that car didn’t see Seff coming, and because Seff was in his time trial handlebars at that moment, he couldn’t brake in time and crashed head-on into that car.”
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According to Montreal police, the incident happened outside its territory, in a Montreal suburb, though they couldn’t say where exactly.
In a statement, the local organizing race committee said every national federation is responsible for choosing where to accommodate its team and deciding on the training course. It says that while some are staying in Montreal, others are off-island.
