Brandt out of coma

Following his life-threatening crash last Tuesday at the Schaal Sels in Belgium, which saw Davitamon-Lotto rider Christophe Brandt kept in an induced coma, doctors decided to wake him earlier than foreseen, with positive results.

His team reports their rider is now awake and his condition is improving rapidly with no heavy pains, and has already spoken with his wife. Brandt's blood controls show a particularly positive evolution.

Immediately after his accident, the 29 year-old Belgian was hospitalised, having suffered a punctured lung, four broken ribs and a broken upper arm, with one of his kidneys requiring removal. Initially, he was to have been kept in an induced coma for a minimum three days.