Marina Romoli of Safi-Pasta Zara was seriously injured on Tuesday while out training, when a car pulled across her path to the south of Lecco in the north west of Italy. The 21-year-old, who turns 22 on June 9th, was taken straight to hospital in Lecco with serious facial injuries and fractured vertebrae. She was later transferred to the San Rafaelle Hospital in Milano, where she was placed into an induced coma.
On Wednesday morning she underwent a nine-hour operation, with doctors using 500 stitches to rebuild her face. The operation was declared successful with Doctors declaring that her life is no longer in danger; there are still concerns over the injury to Romoli’s spine though, which may require operation, but currently there is too much trauma in the area. The decision on whether to operate will be made in the coming days.
Romoli, from Recanati in the Marche region near to the Adriatic coast, is one of the most promising young Italian riders. Having raced the GP Citta di Novi Ligure at the weekend she was staying at her fiancé’s in the Lecco area before travelling to Spain, where she was due to race the GP Ciudad de Valladolid World Cup this weekend.
The 21-year-old was on a training ride with her fiancé, himself a promising cyclist, and another rider; she was doing an interval ahead of the other two when a local driver turned left across her path. According to the other two riders the collision was unavoidable and Romoli hit the side of the car, smashing through the window.