Injured UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider Filippo Baroncini set to be flown to Italy for an operation after being placed in an induced coma following his bad crash on stage 3 in the Tour de Pologne.
Baroncini was amongst several riders who fell heavily late on the stage, with the race neutralised for nearly 20 minutes because of the crash and the GC times subsequently suspended for the stage.
The Italian was taken in an ambulance to hospital in the nearby city of Wroclaw, with a full diagnosis later reporting he had suffered multiple facial and clavicular fractures. Initially conscious, he was placed in an induced coma to facilitate his recovery.
UAE manager Mauro Gianetti flew to Poland to check up on the rider in person, and as he told Cyclingnews and Domestique on Saturday morning's stage 6 of the Tour of de Pologne, the plan is for Baroncini to be flown to Milan for an operation.
"It was really a bad incident, a heavy fall," Gianetti said on Saturday.
"Obviously at the start, the situation was quite critical. Fortunately, he’s stable and he's being kept in an induced coma as a precaution.
"The principal issues are the fractured vertebrae. But for the moment he’s resting, and no new concerns have arisen."
It remains unclear if the Italian racer will finally need an operation on the vertebrae, Gianetti said, with further assessments from the specialists needed first. His broken collarbone - "the least serious of his injuries" - is already repaired, but a major operation will definitely be needed on his face as he has various fractures.
"He will need to be taken to Italy for that, but we're waiting for the green light from the doctors for that to happen," Gianetti said.
"At the moment he's still intubated, so it will require a special kind of transport [to get to Italy, and they have to wait until the swelling to his face goes down before they can operate."
Baroncini will remain in the induced coma for a few more days, probably until he reaches Italy, where UAE are looking for top specialists to carry out the medical work on his face. His brother and father, as well as his agent, were all now in Poland, staying near the hospital where Baroncini is currently receiving treatment.
"At the start they were obviously very scared, but they're better now because they know he’s in good hands. The hospitals here are really excellent and I have to thank them, they’ve really taken great care of Filippo."
Gianetti said that the good news was that he was stable, easing early concerns about his health prospects, and that from here on "it's a question of time and a lot of work".
Meanwhile the Tour de Pologne continues, with UAE's Jan Christen - already an attacker late on stage 5 with Alberto Bettiol (XDS-Astana) - currently in third place at 12 seconds.
"It's not easy for them, they saw him fall," Gianetti said about this teammates, "but they are still very motivated for what's left of the race."
