"The helmet saved my life" - Elia Viviani feels incredibly lucky to escape Paris-Roubaix crash

The sad truth of riding Paris-Roubaix is that, as a rider, you're always potentially moments away from a painful crash. This year, one of those to crash out of the historic French monument, was INEOS Grenadiers' Elia Viviani.

Riding the 'Hell of the North' for the first in seven years, Viviani was caught up in a nasty crash within the peloton before the riders had even reached the first of the cobbled sectors. And given this year's edition of Paris-Roubaix went down in history as the fastest ever, as you would imagine, the Italian hit the deck hard and at speed.

Thankfully, the vastly experienced 35-year-old managed to escape without serious injury. According to Viviani himself, a big reason for this was his helmet. The tests carried out in hospital on the day of the race ruled out fractures, other checks highlighted a muscle injury which I will be able to recover in a few days like the various abrasions on my body," The Italian wrote on his official X (Twitter) account. "About my head, I passed all the necessary checks and all ok."

"It may seem stupid to say it over and over again but the helmet saved my life in Sunday's fall," Viviani continues. "It exploded at the moment of impact, ensuring that the impact did not reach my head. Thanks KASK!"