Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil injured on training ride

By Antonio J. Salmerón

Promising young Caisse d'Epargne rider Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil was hit by a car Saturday afternoon in Murcia. The driver, who reportedly has no license and was driving a car that he didn't own, struck Rojas on Avenida Ramón y Cajal of Cieza just five hundred meters from his home. Rojas was returning home from a four-hour mountain-bike training ride when the driver is reported to have turned left into Rojas' lane without signaling.

Dazed by the impact, Rojas told Cyclingnews.com how his bike was trapped under the car while the driver tried to escape. "He tried to leave," Rojas said, "but he could not do it at first because my bike was trapped beneath his car." The driver did eventually leave but Rojas says the driver later reported to the local police office with the owner of the car.

The young cyclist suffered contusions on the left side of his body, according to hospital sources, where he was attended. "Thanks to the helmet I am here now," he said. "Because of the impact on my head, as well as my shoulder, neck and ankle on the left side."

Rojas says he is not certain of the extent of the injuries and will follow up with the same doctors who attended to injuries he suffered in a crash in March, 2007 this Monday. Rojas says his focus is on recovery and has to put all his racing and training plans on hold for the moment.