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Giant-Alpecin riders involved in training crash

Calamity struck training Giant-Alpecin riders near Calpe, Spain today, when a crash took down six cyclists while the team's training camp is underway.

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Calamity struck Team Giant-Alpecin riders near Calpe, Spain today, when a crash took down six cyclists while the team’s training camp is underway.

Those riders, however, are in stable condition.

The incident happened when a vehicle traveling in the opposite direction of the team drove directly into the cyclists, who were traveling two-abreast on the other side of the road, during a training ride. When the vehicle hit, six riders were involved in the resulting pile-up: Warren Barguil of France, John Degenkolb of Germany, Chad Haga of the United States, Fredrik Ludvigsson of Sweden, Ramon Sinkerldam of the Netherlands, and Max Walscheid, also from Germany.

All of the riders were evacuated from the scene and taken to two different hospitals, reports say. According to team physician Anko Boelens, the squad is counting its lucky stars with the six riders in stable condition, realizing that—though further details have yet to be known—matters could have been much, much worse.

“Everyone on the team is in shock right now,” Boelens said, “and there are some major issues that we need to take care of, but we also realize that we have had some luck on our side. Everyone is conscious stable and approachable, but we are waiting for the latest information and [to] consult the doctors in those hospitals about the treatments needed for the riders.”

Giant-Alpecin, the release added, will release more details once further medical information and the prognosis of individual riders is known.