17-Year-Old Italian Cyclist Impaled by Piece of Wooden Track

An Italian cyclist had his lung punctured by a piece of wooden track at a Belgium track race last Friday.

An Italian cyclist had his lung punctured by a piece of wooden track at a Belgium track race last Friday, reports the Independent and BBC Sport.

Lorenzo Gobbo, 17, was competing in the scratch race at the European Under-23 and Junior track Championships in Ghent, Belgium when there was a crash. According to the BBC, a pedal went into the track and dislodged some of it, which Gobbo accidentally fell on. He was rushed to the hospital after the wood cut into his thigh, pierced his side and punctured his lung.

A photo showing the incident along with wellwishes was posted to his team's Facebook.

Gobbo went through a three-hour operation to remove the wood, according to the Independent.

Frank Glorieux, chief executive of meet organizers Cycling Vlaanderen told BBC Sport last week that Gobbo is recovering well but was in intensive care to prevent infections.