Samuele Battistella suffers memory loss and broken tooth after Amstel crash

Astana Qazaqstan Team have been having a very complicated start to the season and at the recent Amstel Gold Race it took another hit as leader Samuele Battistella suffered a bad crash before the decisive hilly section of the race.

After a promising start to the season at the Tour de la Provence and Volta ao Algarve, Battistella season took a wrong turn as he crashed out of Paris-Nice. He hasn't raced until Amstel where he would be leading the team as Alexey Lutsenko suffered a training crash a few weeks ago, but upon his return he has been forced out of competition once again.

Battistella crashed in a roundabout alongside several other riders, however he is the only one who stayed on the floor, although moving. The Italian says he has no recollection of the incident, and that he "wasn't conscious for 20 minutes or more".

He is reported to have broken a tooth. He hit his head on the floor in which the helmet couldn't prevent all physical damage. He has gotten several abrasions on the right side of his face, which have included four stitches in the eyebrow and three on his upper lip.