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Astana pro "unconscious for 20 minutes" after Amstel Gold crash, has no memory of incident

Worrying TV pictures showed Samuele Battistella motionless after the high-speed crash during yesterday's race...

Astana Qazaqstan rider Samuele Battistella has no memory of the crash that ended his chances at Amstel Gold Race yesterday, and says he was unconscious for 20 minutes after the fall.

The Italian came down as the peloton negotiated a roundabout after striking an unmarshalled piece of road furniture, hitting his head on impact.

The 23 year old was taken to hospital, with his team later updating fans with the full list of injuries, which included wounds to the face requiring stitches, and a chipped tooth.

Battistella added to the update, saying "luckily the medical staff at the hospital said all is 'ok' I just need recovery and to stay under control.

"I've lost the memory on what happened yesterday at Amstel Gold Race. I crashed so hard that I wasn't conscious for 20 mins or more."

Tadej Pogačar was one of the many well-wishers replying to the update, saying: "I hope you are okay and you will recover fast!"

Battistella won the 2019 U23 UCI World Championship road race in Harrogate — following Nils Eekhoff's disqualification — sprinting to victory from a group including home favourite Tom Pidcock.

With their likely team leader out of the race, Astana failed to contest the win in Valkenburg, as Alexandr Riabushenko in 54th was the team's highest-placed rider of the two who completed the 254km day.

> "I feel so bad for him!": Amstel Gold Race photo finish drama AGAIN as Benoît Cosnefroy celebrates...only to be told result on live TV

Michał Kwiatkowski ultimately won the race, pipping Benoît Cosnefroy in the tightest of photo finishes. The Frenchman celebrated having been told the decision had gone his way only to be heartbreakingly broken the news that he had in fact been beaten as the live TV cameras continued to roll.

Dan joined road.cc in 2020, and spent most of his first year (hopefully) keeping you entertained on the live blog. At the start of 2022 he took on the role of news editor. Before joining road.cc, Dan wrote about various sports, including football and boxing for the Daily Express, and covered the weird and wonderful world of non-league football for The Non-League Paper. Part of the generation inspired by the 2012 Olympics, Dan has been 'enjoying' life on two wheels ever since and spends his weekends making bonk-induced trips to the petrol stations of the south of England.

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