peter stetina

Peter Stetina courtesy of his twitter page @peterstetina

As reported by Velonews yesterday, Santa Rosa resident Peter Stetina who races for Santa Rosa based BMC Racing Team, was seriously injured in a crash in the final straight of the first stage of the Vuelta al Pais Vasco in Spain. Peter suffered a broken tibia, patella and four broken ribs.

A dozen riders were injured due to a poorly laid out course that had metal poles in the roadway that are used with traffic control (see photo below). The poles had orange cones on top of them, but were missing race officials waving orange warning flags.  Today, the Professional Cyclists Association led a five minute strike at the start of the second stage to protest the unsafe conditions.

The timing could not be worse for Peter. Considered a favorite for next months 10th Anniversary edition Amgen Tour of California, this crash not only takes him out of the event, but casts serious doubt of his Tour de France participation where his support of  Colorado teammate Tejay Van Garderen is vital for Tejay’s yellow jersey aspirations.

Earlier this morning on Peter’s twitter account @peterstetina, Peter posted the following statement, “The support pouring in from peers, friends, fans, & family has been astonishing. It means the world to us. THANK YOU! I’ve read every note.”

I am wishing Peter the best! Based on my witnessing Peter’s charges up Geyser’s road on training rides, he is a very strong and will be back in full strength.

Good luck with your recovery!

Bruce McConnell

poles

The culprit. Very poorly placed poles in the final sprint without yellow tape or a race official warning the riders. The riders in a mass bunch had little warning as they crashed at high speed. 

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