Injured Colombian stable aftercrash

COLOMBIAN  Juan Mauricio Soler was in a stable condition after suffering head injuries in a crash on the Tour of Switzerland.

COLOMBIAN Juan Mauricio Soler was in a stable condition after suffering head injuries in a crash on the Tour of Switzerland, an official for his Movistar team said yesterday.

Soler was put into an artificial coma on Thursday following a crash that fractured his skull.

A team official said: "We haven't heard any news from the doctors at the hospital, which suggests to us that he's in a stable condition.

"As far as we know he won't undergo any operation. The doctors are waiting for the bruising and the swelling to heal."

After Soler crashed early in the sixth stage he unconscious, with blood pouring from his head and suffering from a broken ankle.

He was immediately airlifted to hospital, where doctors confirmed he had a fractured skull and blood on the brain.

Soler's lungs had to be drained and he needed artificial help in breathing.

The official said the accident was believed to be a result of the rider's front wheel hitting the pavement at speed.

"At the time the peloton was riding really fast," he said. "It's a shame for him, because he was just coming back into form and he got his first victory in four years on Sunday."

Soler had been hoping to use the race to secure a place on Movistar's team for the Tour de France, on which he won a stage and the King of the Mountains polkadot jersey in 2007. At the start of Thursday's stage, Soler was second in the standings.

The accident is a further blow to the Movistar team, already reeling from the death of Spanish cyclist Xavier Tondo.

AFP