In 1989, Reimund Dietzen was riding the Vuelta a España as captain for the Spanish Teka team, and had even won a stage. However, in the 13th stage, he rode into a tunnel which was not illuminated and crashed, suffering career-ending injuries. Dietzen is now a directeur sportif with Team Gerolsteiner. On Wednesday, 17 years after the accident, Spain's highest court, La Sala de lo Civil del Tribunal Supremo, has ordered the Vuelta's organizers to pay him 481,927 Euros in damages.
The court ruled that there was no evidence that the crash was caused by the rider's negligence or by a third party. Further, Unipublic, which is responsible for the Vuelta, must assume the responsibility, because it is the one who organizes the race and so commits itself to adopt measures for the riders's safety, according to the court.
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