Brandon McNulty dedicated his overall win at the Tour of Poland to his seriously injured UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammate Filippo Baroncini.
The mood might have been high at UAE after their 25th GC win of the season, and McNulty's first WorldTour victory, but thoughts were elsewhere, after Baroncini's crash on stage three.
"For sure, we've been riding with him [in mind] all week and today it was really nice to get a win for him," McNulty said. "We've all been thinking of him a lot since he left."
The Italian was among a number of riders who crashed last Wednesday, late on in stage three, including race leader Paul Lapeira (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), which led to the race temporarily being neutralised. It wasn't until later in the race that the true extent of his injuries became clear, however.
Baroncini was taken by ambulance to a hospital in Wrocław, with the 24-year-old later put into an induced coma in order to support him. It is understood he has now been flown home to Italy to continue his recovery there.
A UAE Team Emirates-XRG spokesperson said last week: “He sustained multiple facial injuries, including a fractured cervical vertebra (no neurological fallout), and facial and clavicular fractures. He is currently being taken care of in hospital and is under the supervision of our medical team.”
UAE team boss Mauro Gianetti flew to Poland to support his rider, and later told Cyclingnews that they were awaiting news of special transport to take him back to Italy
"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."
A former under-23 world champion, Baroncini won the Baloise Belgium Tour in June this year, and the Super 8 Classic, also in Belgium, last September.
Cycling Weekly's thoughts are with Baroncini, and his friends and family, at this time.
