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Stephane Mahe / Reuters
British cyclist Bradley Wiggins won the Tour de France and an Olympic gold medal this summer.
LONDON — Tour de France cycling champion Bradley Wiggins was recovering in a hospital Thursday after being hit by a car while riding his bike in north-west England.
The 32-year-old British cyclist, who won his fourth gold medal at the London 2012 Olympics in July, was thrown off his bike after a white Vauxhall Astra Envoy pulled out of a gas station and collided with him, ITV News reported.
Police said he sustained broken ribs as well as cuts and bruises in the accident, but his professional sponsors Team Sky said "the injuries he sustained are not thought to be serious and he is expected to make a full and speedy recovery."
Read the full story at ITV News
The crash happened at about 6 p.m. local time on Wednesday (1 p.m. ET) in Wrightington, Lancashire, which is near to his family home in Eccleston.
The father-of-two, whose candor has made him one of Britain's most popular athletes, regularly cycles around the area's rural roads.
Gas station attendant Yasmin Smith told ITV News that the female driver of the car initially didn't recognize Wiggins.
"She was even more upset when the police told her who she had hit," Smith said.
Earlier, Smith told the Lancashire Evening Post newspaper: "[Wiggins] said he thought he had broken his ribs and while a lot of police cars arrived it was about 15 minutes before the ambulance got there by which time he was blue."
ITV News reporter Richard Gaisford said parts of the car were still visible on the ground at the scene of the collision early Thursday.
Live for @daybreak in Lancs with latest on Bradley Wiggins accident. Parts of the van he hit are on the ground. twitter.com/richardgaisfor�
— Richard Gaisford (@richardgaisford) November 8, 2012
Lancashire Police said in a statement late Wednesday: “Police were called to the scene of a road traffic accident at Crow Orchard Road in Wrightington at about 6 p.m. this evening. A cyclist has been involved in a collision with a white Vauxhall Astra car.
"The rider of the bike, a 32-year-old local man, was taken to hospital by ambulance with injuries not thought to be life-threatening. His family have been told."
ITV News is the U.K. partner of NBC News.
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Leave a Comment:
Rest up and get well Bradley!
I didn't know there were any Tour champions left. I thought they had all been stripped. Well, I'm sure the ICU will be getting some blood smaples from the ER visit and he won't be champion for long!!! LMAO!
Another stupid comment from an uninformed troll.
Maybe they will blame it on drugs
He was doping! Quick, hire an independent agency to make up some reports alleging doping activities so you can throw him out in disgrace. Only Frenchmen are allowed to win the Tour de France!
Ain't that the truth. No physical evidence against Lance and yet years after the winds a bunch of losers come forward and say he cheated.
As a trial lawyer which he wants in the court room. Eye witnesses or physical evidence?
!
if he was on the dope he would have leaped 10 feet out of the path of the car and shot a bolt of lightening out of his ass at the car.
It is very dangerous to ride a bike or train on a bike in the urban area that I live in,a shame that it is hard to find a good place to ride,especially to ride hard and fast. Velodrome?
A shame that one of the most epic sporting events in the world has been stigmatized so much. Have no idea whether other sports have more or less (pharmacological issues).
get well soon......
USADA moves to strip Wiggins of medals, citing suspected drug use and doping in the hospital. USADA says nationality and lack of any evidence just paperwork formalities.
Brits driving on the wrong side, I knew this was going to happen sooner or later!
Now we see why our English "friends" burn effigies of Lance Armstrong.
It appears that the British are just as lousy at driving at Americans.I hope that he has a fast and full recovery.
Oh no, if injured he will have to take drugs, and then he will be proved to be a cheat. LOL