WHOOPS! Trek director found unconscious; Tennis star slams cycling:Daily News Digest (Spain)

If a Trek director can't safely mountain bike, then no one can!

Mike


https://cyclingtips.com/2018/10/trek...y-news-digest/

Trek director found unconscious; Tennis star slams cycling: Daily News Digest

by CyclingTips

October 16, 2018

WELCOME TO YOUR DAILY NEWS DIGEST. HERE’S WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY:

Trek-Segafredo director Steven De Jongh failed to return from a ride and was found unconscious in Spain today. The Dutchman was found lying in a ravine along a popular biking road in the Catalonia region. Also, tennis sensation Novak Djokovic slammed cycling for its doping problem and a South African mountain biker received a four-year ban for biological passport abnormalities. Those stories and more in today’s Daily News Digest.

STORY OF THE DAY: STEVEN DE JONGH FOUND UNCONSCIOUS AFTER RIDE IN SPAIN

Trek-Segafredo Director Sportif Steven De Jongh went missing early Monday morning after he didn’t return from a ride in the Catalonia region of Spain. He was found hours later by helicopter, unconscious but breathing. Reports indicate that De Jongh regained consciousness at the hospital.

De Jongh’s wife Renée Meijer made a call for help on Twitter after her husband didn’t return from his ride. Meijer’s tweet was retweeted over 2,000 times before news finally broke that De Jongh had been found.

Thank you kind people, the helicopter has found @stevendejongh . More news later. He breaths and has a pulse .

Â* Renee Meijer (@reneemeijer02) October 15, 2018

Strava seems to have played a part in helping to find De Jongh. The Dutchman’s ride was shared on Twitter and showed him suddenly stopping along a common bicycle route between the towns of Calonge and La Bisbal del Ampurdán. The police are currently investigating whether De Jongh was hit by a car or the rainy weather had anything to do with the incident.

Need to find Mark Roberts https://t.co/QNmMpqyqn9 … he might have more information. pic.twitter.com/gNu3SUsjQq

Â* Robert van Klinken (@robertvklinken) October 15, 2018

De Jongh has been a staple on the cycling scene for decades. He won the E3 Prijs Harelbeke in 2003 and was twice victorious at Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne. He turned pro in 1996 and retired from racing in 2010 after spending his final year on Team Sky. He’s been with Trek-Segafredo for the last few seasons and also previously worked with Alberto Contador during the Tinkoff-Saxo Bank years.

Update: Trek-Segafredo has revealed that De Jongh suffered a severe concussion in the crash but that scans revealed no broken bones.