Italian Riccardo Riccò (Ceramica Flaminia) defended his overall lead at the Tour of Austria in dramatic fashion today, powering to the finish line bloody and battered following a collision with a motorcycle during the penultimate time trial stage. Rabobank's Joost Posthuma was fastest amidst the overall drama, clocking a time of 30 minutes and 47 seconds, which was 11 seconds better than Patrick Gretsch (HTC-Columbia) and a further 29 seconds faster than Artem Ovechkin (Katusha).
The incident involving Riccò occurred 17 kilometers into the 26.3 kilometer test against the clock, when the Ceramica Flaminia rider slammed into a parked motorcycle that reportedly belonged to the television video crew.
Apparently, the crew darted ahead of the Italian and parked their motorcycle on the side of the road to get a better shot of the race leader, but even with warnings from the sidelines, Riccò was too concentrated on his effort to hear their calls. He crashed heavily into the bike on a long straight section of the course where sidewinds pushed the riders to the right side of the road. Much to his surprise, he found himself suddenly sprawled out on the pavement.
Despite pleas to abandon the race, the bloodied and bruised Italian forged on to the finish to secure an 61st place on the day, which was enough to maintain a 37 second advantage over Spaniard Sergio Pardilla (Carmiooro-NGC) in the overall contest. He was rushed to the hospital in Eisenstadt in a ambulance immediately after the finish, with cuts to his face and legs and a likely broken nose.
It's not clear if he will be in condition to start tomorrow's final stage, but the team manager said, "Riccardo said in the bus that he wants to win this tour if it is possible in some way."
Tomorrow's eighth and final stage will take the peloton 122.8 kilometers from Podersdorf to Vienna. Its pan flat profile should end up giving the sprinters the final chance for glory.
Tour of Austria stage seven results:
1. Joost Posthuma (Rabobank)
2. Patrick Gretsch (HTC-Columbia)
3. Artem Ovechkin (Katusha)
4. Stijn Devolder (Quick Step)
5. Aranburu Irizar (RadioShack)
6. Tiago Machado (RadioShack)
Overall standings after stage seven:
1. Riccardo Riccò (Ceramica Flaminia)
2. Sergio Pardilla (Carmiooro-NGC) @ 37s