The Austrian Continental team Team Felbermayr – Simplon Wels suffered a major setback as they prepared for the 2024 season at a Training Camp in Croatia, with three of their cyclists involved in a serious traffic accident.
“The group was heading to Zadar, Croatia, yesterday for a 10-day Training Camp with several vehicles in preparation for the 2024 racing season,” explains a team post. “After overcoming the chaos of snow in Austria and difficult road conditions, a serious traffic accident occurred 6 km from Zadar.”
In the accident, three cyclists from the team were “seriously injured” while their car was stationary at a traffic light. Unfortunately, an approaching vehicle, driven by someone who was later examined by the police and found to be well above the legal alcohol limit, collided head-on with the car containing the three cyclists from Team Felbermayr – Simplon Wels at an estimated speed of 100 km/h, according to witnesses.
Sports director with good news
On Sunday afternoon, sports director Rupert Hödlmoser brought good news to fans and family. No one is in mortal danger. “As brutal as the accident was, the boys escaped almost unharmed. Given the circumstances, they are doing well.”
“Final evaluations are still being made to rule out everything. In the next few hours, we will receive information about their conditions to return home,” Hödlmoser told the Austrian website radsport-news.com.
Like the team, Hödlmoser did not disclose the names of the injured cyclists. However, it is certain that only one of the trio is still in the intensive care unit.