New
Zealand's Bennett 'lucky to be alive' after training crash
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[April 17, 2018]
(Reuters) - New Zealander George
Bennett avoided potentially life-threatening injuries after he was
hit by a car while training in Italy.
The LottoNL-Jumbo rider was preparing for the Giro d'Italia's stage
16 time trial, which takes place near the first stage of the Tour of
the Alps, when a car turned into his path.
"I was going pretty fast on the time trial doing a recon for the
Giro," Bennett told Cyclingnews.com.
"A car was coming the other way. It didn't see us, and it turned
left across the road and I went straight into the side of him and I
went over.
"I was really lucky with how it happened. I'm lucky to be alive I
think. It could have been me in a wheelchair for the rest of my
life."
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2018/Apr/17/images/ads/current/class_rent_bch.png)
Bennett, who won last year's Tour of California, finished seventh in
the opening stage of the Tour of the Alps on Monday.
The 28-year-old's knees were heavily strapped but he remains
confident about his chances in the Giro d'Italia which starts on May
4.
"Generally, I'm fine. My left knee I was a bit worried about and my
left arm. The good thing is, I'm sore everywhere but nothing is
really bad," he added.
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![](../images/041718pics/sports59.jpg)
The 189.5-km Stage 15 from Laissac-Severac l'Eglise to Le
Puy-en-Velay, France - July 16, 2017 - Lotto NL-Jumbo rider George
Bennett of New Zealand in action.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2016/Mar/14/images/ads/current/tires250x300.gif)
Twelve months ago Italy's Michele Scarponi was killed on a training
ride the day after completing the Tour of the Alps.
The Paris-Roubaix one-day race this month was overshadowed by the
death of Belgian rider Michael Goolaerts who crashed after suffering
a heart attack.
(Reporting by Hardik Vyas in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)
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