World superbike champion Troy Bayliss fractures vertebra in serious bicycle accident

Three-time world superbike champion Troy Bayliss was taken to hospital in a serious condition after sustaining a horror injury to his spinal cord.

DesmoSport Ducati's Troy Bayliss has suffered a horror injury

Three-time world superbike champion Troy Bayliss has fractured a vertebra in his back and damaged his spinal cord in a serious bicycle accident.

Bayliss, 52, is believed to have crashed into another bicycle which pulled out between parked cars but he has little recollection of the accident.

“I’m OK and I’m home, but the crash means I won’t be riding a motorcycle until I regain full movement in my arms and hands.’’

Troy Bayliss (21) during the YMI Superbikes race 2 of the 2018 Australian Superbike Championships held at Hidden Valley Raceway.

Bayliss was taken to hospital in a serious condition after the crash on Friday but is now back at his Gold Coast home.

“I’ll be back in leathers as soon as I can. It’s been an intense weekend for me and my family, but luckily I’m OK and I will recover,’’ Bayliss said.

“My doctors have been really positive, but there’s no firm indication of how long it will be until I can regain enough control to get back on a bike – maybe a few months, maybe longer; it just depends on how the recovery goes once the bones heal up.”

Bayliss is co-owner of the DesmoSport Ducati Team in the Australian Superbike series. His son Oli, 17, races for the team.

Troy Bayliss won three World Superbike titles in 2001, 2006 and 2008, but came out of retirement at age 46 to race in the category for the two opening rounds of 2015.

The super-fit Bayliss also continued to race for Ducati in the Australian Superbikes as recently as 2018.

Originally published as World superbike champion Troy Bayliss fractures vertebra in serious bicycle accident