Swiss professional is taken to hospital after crashing out of Gravel Burn as Stage 6 is cancelled due to the weather
Friday’s stage of the Nedbank Gravel Burn in South Africa has been ‘neutralised’ after extreme weather conditions resulted in one of the riders crashing out and being rushed to hospital.
Swiss professional Andri Frischknecht was hit by a fierce crosswind as the riders tentatively made their way to a revised starting point, having seen the race delayed due to the early morning wind and rain.
Such was the ferocity of the weather, organisers were forced to evacuate the 500 competitors from their camping spots to ensure their safety.
The 144km stage from Merino Farm near Cradock to Gwanishi will not now be counted towards the overall standings, with race founder Kevin Vermaak clearly frustrated that the weather had wrecked what had promised to be another wonderful day of racing.
‘An unfortunate turn of events’
“This is an obviously unfortunate turn of events, and we would like to thank the positive spirit in which riders have approached it and the event crew for their hard work throughout the day,” he said.
Riders woke early on Friday morning to extremely strong winds and then rain, and it was decided to delay the 7am start by an hour and neutralise the first section of racing out to the water point at 46km. A decision which was welcomed by all cyclists.
However, on this ride, Frischknecht crashed at the 36km mark and was taken to hospital with a concussion and a shoulder injury. Gravel Burn officials are continuing to support him as he receives treatment.
With the wind continuing to gust, it made racing unsafe, and the day also became increasingly hot – with temperatures of 35C being recorded on the route – and following requests from the leading professionals, the race commissaire decided to neutralise the entire stage.
It means that heading into the final stage on Saturday, the positions are as they were at the end of Thursday’s Stage 5, with Matt Beers (RSA) just 33 seconds ahead of Swiss rider Simon Pellaud in the Pro Men’s race, and Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (RSA) leading America’s Melisa Rollins by 4:20 in the Pro Women’s General Classification.
British riders Alistair Brownlee, Tom Pidcock and Lawrence Carpenter are in 28th, 29th and 32nd, respectively, in the Pro Men’s section, while in the Women’s Pro rankings, Madeleine Nutt is 11th, Ruth Astle is 14th, and Sophie Wright is 22nd.
Gravel Burn General Classification
Pro Men General Classification after Stage 5
1 Matthew Beers (Specialized Off-Road Toyota) 15:46:42
2 Simon Pellaud (Tudor Pro Cycling) +0:33
3 Hugo Drechou (Numéro31.cc / Pinarello) +6:42
4 Lukas Baum (Orbea x Leatt Speed Company) +8:28
5 Tristan Nortje (Imbuko ChemChamp) +9:19
Pro Women General Classification after Stage 5
1 Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (AG Insurance Soudal) 19:39:21
2 Melisa Rollins (Liv Racing Collective) +4:20
3 Hayley Preen (ChemChamp Honeycomb 226ers) +6:31
4 Lauren Stephens (Aegis Cycling Foundation) +7:01
5 Axelle Dubau-Prevot (Numéro 31 par Café du Cycliste/ Pinarello) +8:54
For a full list of all the results, click HERE to go to the Gravel Burn website.
Read the Gravel Burn Stage 1 report HERE.
Read the Gravel Burn Stage 2 report HERE.
Read the Gravel Burn Stage 3 report HERE.
Read the Gravel Burn Stage 4 report HERE.
Read the Gravel Burn Stage 5 report HERE.
Read all about the Gravel Burn HERE.
