In-race accident with a motorbike nearly ends the life of the junior Paris-Roubaix champion

During the opening kilometers of the first stage of important junior race Giro della Lunigiana a serious accident occured. Main victim was the Slovenian Jakob Omrzel. The life of this year's winner of the Paris-Roubaix juniors was in a stake, but latest reports suggest he'll be able to recover from the horrible experience.

Bicisport initially reported that the young rider was taken to the hospital in La Spezia but will most likely be transferred to bigger facility in Genoa soon. The accident was caused by a motorbike from the organizing party. Italian rider Jacopo Sasso was also involved. The latter suffered numerous abrasions, the motorcyclist fractures to a leg and elbow, while Omrzel had the worst of it: first a large cut on his neck and then cardiac massage was necessary.

Later in the evening, the selector of the Slovenian youth national team, Nace Korošec, who is with the cyclists at the race venue, told Sportal that the condition of 18-year-old Jakob Omrzel is stable, that he is conscious and communicating with those around him. More will be known tomorrow morning, but he will definitely remain in the hospital for a few more days.

The official media representative of the Lunigiana bicycle race, Valerio Bianco, also confirmed to the Slovenian outlet that the young Slovenian cyclist is in the hospital and that his life is not in danger. He also said that the collision with the warden was violent.

Jakob Omrzel is considered one of the greatest hopes of Slovenian cycling. The current national road race champion proved himself by winning the Paris-Roubaix juniors race in April, while taking on the best climbers of the category (Paul Seixas, Adria Pericas, ....) on multiple other occasions. He will wear the jersey of the development team CTF Victorious next season and he's expected to turn pro with the WorldTour formation later.