Molano hit head-on by driver, ruled out of Gent-Wevelgem
Juan Sebastián Molano has been ruled out of Gent-Wevelgem but will count himself lucky not to have been more seriously injured after being hit by a driver while training on Friday.
UAE Team Emirates announced at the time that the Colombian sprinter had suffered a concussion and a fractured toe among 'numerous injuries' sustained while training in Belgium.
It later emerged that Molano had been involved in a head-on collision with a car.
A static CCTV camera in the driveway of a household in Waregem, Flanders, captured the moment of impact and was later circulated by national broadcaster Sporza.
The shocking images show Molano riding along before coming into contact with the car just out of shot on the right-hand side of the frame. Molano is not seen from that point on, but his bike is sent flying into the air and bounces across the driveway.
Molano was on the right-hand side of the road, and it appeared that the driver of the car was looking to turn into the driveway, moving to the wrong side of the road and catching the rider head-on.
"Unfortunately, Juan Sebastián Molano will be ruled out of Gent-Wevelgem, having sustained numerous injuries in a training crash in Belgium," read a statement from UAE Team Emirates.
"Amongst his injuries, Molano suffered a concussion and a fractured toe, which will keep him on the sidelines for some weeks."
Molano will be replaced in the team's line-up by Mikkel Bjerg, with Tim Wellens, Matteo Trentin, and Pascal Ackermann among the team's options for victory.
Molano had been set to lead the line for UAE at Gent-Wevelgem after a strong start to the season in which he picked up a sprint victory in a strong field at UAE Tour and more recently won a cobbled semi-classic at the GP Denain.
Molano was not involved at E3 Saxo Bank Classic, during which he suffered his training crash, but was on the longlist for Wednesday's Dwars door Vlaanderen and next Sunday's Tour of Flanders. He will now certainly miss both of those races.
