PARIS (AP) — Australian cyclist Lucas Plapp underwent abdominal surgery overnight at a Paris hospital following a hard crash on rain-slicked roads during the Olympic time trial on Saturday, the Australian team said.
AusCycling, Australia’s cycling governing body, confirmed the procedure early Sunday. No other details were available.
Plapp was among the last riders to start on the 32.4-kilometer (20-mile) course and was laying down a medal-worthy ride at the first time check, trailing then-leader and eventual bronze medalist Wout van Aert by just two seconds. But when Plapp reached a technical portion of the course, his bike slid out from under him and he crashed hard onto the pavement.
The crash was not shown on the race broadcast, but AusCycling said Plapp was conscious and moving afterward. He was lifted into the team vehicle and taken to the hospital for precautionary scans, and later he required the abdominal procedure.
“Plapp slid under a barrier fence shortly after passing the first checkpoint approximately 14 kilometers into the 32-kilometer course,” AusCycling said. “His parents and an Australian team doctor were at the hospital with him.”
The 23-year-old Plapp, who won bronze at the Tokyo Games as part of the Australian pursuit team, is the reigning national time trial and road race champion. He was supposed to ride alongside Simon Clarke in support of teammate Michael Matthews in the Olympic road race next Saturday.
Remco Evenepoel won the time trial, giving Belgium two riders on the podium, while Filippo Ganna of Italy finished second. But both the women’s and men’s races were marred by a series of crashes on a course made treacherous by the rain.
Among those who fell was American rider Chloe Dygert, the reigning time trial world champion, who remounted her bike and rallied to finish third behind gold medalist Grace Brown of Australia and Anna Henderson of Britain.
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“If we were in Britain, these (conditions) would be absolutely perfect. The roads are better to take corners on. When we’re in Spain, France or Italy, I feel like it’s a little more icy,” said Dygert, who still plans to compete in the road race and team pursuit this Olympics. “But for sure it definitely plays a factor into the race itself. And I think it totally changed the ballgame.”
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