Top cyclist in artificial coma after car accident
Belgian cycling pro Nathan Van Hooydonck has been hospitalized with life-threatening injuries after being involved in a road accident on Tuesday.
Several Belgian media outlets, including major newspapers Het Laatste Nieuws and Het Nieuwsblad, reported on the accident. This was also confirmed by sports director Grischa Niermann at Jumbo-Visma, where Van Hooydonck works.
– The team doesn’t know anything other than what the media reports. He was involved in an accident and taken to hospital. He had been placed in an artificial coma, Niermann told Discovery.
– This is difficult news for us. Our thoughts are with him and his girlfriend. We all hope for the best, he continued.
A total of five cars were involved in the incident. Het Nieuwsblad quoted a police official as saying that the cyclist received life-saving assistance at the scene and was revived. He was then taken to hospital.
Van Hooydonck’s heavily pregnant wife was also said to have remained in the car. According to police, he was not injured in the crash, but was taken to hospital for examination.
Photos from the scene show several of the cars involved were heavily damaged. Three people in the vehicle were reportedly treated for minor injuries. Police suspect Van Hooydonck may have felt unwell while driving and lost control of his own car.
The Belgian has been a professional cyclist since 2017. He rides for the star-studded Jumbo-Visma team, where he is one of Wout Van Aert’s most important weapons for supercyclists.
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