Alessandro Petacchi needed five stitches to a wound on his chin and suffered bruises to his right shin and ankle after a crash in training. The Lampre-Farnese Vini sprinter was on a training ride with teammate Lorenzo Bernucci when he was unable to avoid a flower pot on the side of the road.
He was taken to Don Bosco Hospital in Viareggio, on the Tuscan coast, where the stitches were applied and the bruising to his leg was diagnosed. Petacchi also complained of a pain in his groin area as he hurriedly tried to unclip from his pedal shortly before the impact with the flower pot.
Doctor Carlo Guardascione, Lampre-Farnese Vini’s chief medical officer, will examine the sprinter from La Spezia tomorrow to assess whether he will be fit to take the start of the Tirreno-Adriatico on Wednesday.
“Ale-Jet” Petacchi has enjoyed a successful start to his 2010 season, winning two stages of the Giro della Provincia Calabria, his fifth victory at the GP Costa Etrusca and a stage of the Giro di Sardegna. He has already had to miss a race due to a medical problem when gastroenteritis forced him to sit out the Trofeo Laigueglia.
Having to miss the Race of the Two Seas this week would be a far bigger blow to Petacchi though, as he builds up to his main target of the spring: the Milano-Sanremo.