Belgium cyclist Remco Evenepoel suffered a fractured pelvis and a right lung contusion in a crash off a bridge during the Il Lombardia one-day race on Sunday (NZ time).
The 20-year-old was part of the leading group with around 40km to go when he collided with a bridge railing and somersaulted over the edge. Evenepoel was attended to by paramedics in the ravine before being taken to hospital.
His team, Deceuninck-QuickStep, said he was conscious but is facing a lengthy stint on the sidelines.
"He was placed into a precautionary neck brace and taken to the Como hospital by ambulance, Remco was conscious at all times as he underwent a series of examinations to reveal the extent of his injury.
"Unfortunately, the X-rays showed a fractured pelvis and a right lung contusion, which will keep Evenepoel on the sidelines for the upcoming period.
"Our rider will remain in the hospital overnight under observation, before flying on Sunday to Belgium."
The Belgian is one of the most promising prospects in cycling, having won the Tour of Poland earlier this month.
Evenepoel's teammate Fabio Jakobsen was hospitalised during the Tour of Poland after he crashed into the barriers at high speed towards the finish line. Jakobsen underwent facial surgery lasting more than five hours and was placed in a coma.
Deceuninck-QuickStep directeur sportif Davide Bramati said he is hopeful the back luck for his team stops after the two scary crashes.
"We didn't see the fall ourselves, we only heard about it on the race radio," Bramati told Belgium website Sporza."When we saw that Remco's data had stopped, we already thought it was him.
"When we got there, all I saw was his bike. A bike without a rider, that's not a pleasant sight," he said.
"I walked straight down and quickly saw that he was okay. He could talk and said he had pain in his right side.
"He's in the hospital now, with the doctor, Patrick [Lefevere] and his family. I think he'll be all right. But may the bad luck stop for us now."
In another shock twist, Bora-Hansgrohe's Max Schachmann was hit by a car near the finish line after the driver somehow got onto the course.
The 231km race was won by Denmark's Jakob Fuglsang, with Kiwi George Bennett finishing 31s behind in second and Schachmann in seventh.
Bennett is the first ever Kiwi to poduim in the race, which comes days after he won the Gran Piemonte one-day race
