Lotto-Soudal's Kris Boeckmans to be brought out of induced coma

Lotto-Soudal says that its rider Kris Boeckmans is expected to be brought out of the induced coma he was put into after his horrific crash at the Vuelta on Saturday in the next day or so.

The 28-year-old Belgian suffered concussion, facial injuries and broken ribs in the crash during Stage 8 to Murcia which also ended the participation in the race of riders including Cannondale-Garmin’s Dan Martin and BMC Racing’s Tejay van Garderen.

In a statement on the Lotto-Soudal website, team doctor Servaas Bingé said: “A new CT scan showed that Kris didn’t have any brain injuries other than the severe concussion he incurred yesterday.

“Further tests showed that apart from a bleeding in the lung Kris also had a pneumothorax, next to the facial fractures and three rib fractures that already were reported yesterday. To keep the lung injury under control a drain was introduced in the thorax yesterday evening.

“At the moment Kris is still in an induced coma. From now on the sedative medication will be reduced gradually, so we can expect he’ll wake up within 24 to 48 hours.”

He added: “It’s too early to predict anything regarding the repatriation or any surgery. We assess the situation day by day.”

The stage was won by Trek Factory Racing’s Jasper Stuyven, who turned out to have broken his wrist in the same crash and who has also since abandoned the race.

He said: "After the finish my wrist was getting more and more painful. Unfortunately, the X-rays confirmed it is broken and that my Vuelta finishes."