Olympic hero Bradley Wiggins was rushed to hospital last night after falling victim to a car accident. The sports star was seen cycling for the first time since his Tour de France and Olympic wins around 6pm on Wednesday evening in Chorley, Lancashire, when the incident occurred. Known to have recently shaved off his trademark "lucky sideburns", fate played a trick on Bradley as the cyclist was knocked off his bike by a Vauxhall Astra turning out of a nearby petrol station.
Witness Yasmin Smith, an attendant at the nearby garage, said: "By the time I got there he had moved to a safer place but was still on the ground and he was in a lot of pain. He said he thought he had broken his ribs and while a lot of police cars arrived it was about 15 minutes before the ambulance got there, by which time he was blue."
Although the sportsman is said to have rib, wrist and hand injuries, the plucky champion is set to leave the hospital on Thursday after being kept for overnight observation. His team said: "The injuries he has sustained are not thought to be serious and he is expected to make a full and speedy recovery."
The Lancashire police who assisted in clearing up the accident were also of the same mindset. Their released statement said: "Police were called to the scene of a road traffic collision at around 6pm. That was a cyclist who had been involved in a collision with a white Vauxhall Astra car. The rider of the bike, who we are saying is a 32-year-old local man, was taken to hospital with injuries. Those injuries are not life threatening. The driver of the car, who was a local woman, did not receive any injuries, and is assisting officers with our inquiries."
Bradley put his training aside to concentrate on other projects, such as compiling his autobiography, My Time, which is released on Thursday.
