Cyclist injured during A11 time trial
A cyclist was airlifted to hospital after being injured in a collision on the A11 at Attleborough whilst taking part in a time trial event.Road chiefs and event organisers have defended the use of dual carriageways and A roads for cycling events following the accident on Sunday afternoon .
A CYCLIST was airlifted to hospital after being injured in a collision on the A11 at Attleborough whilst taking part in a time trial event.
Road chiefs and event organisers have defended the use of dual carriageways and A roads for cycling events following the accident on Sunday afternoon .
Will Dorsett, believed to be in his early 20s, from north Norfolk, was injured whilst taking part in a 12 hour time trial on the dual carriageway.
The former triathlete, who is a member of the North Norfolk Wheelers cycling club, was just under eight hours into the race and had completed more than 175 miles when he was involved in the collision near the Breckland Lodge Hotel roundabout.
He was flown to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital by air ambulance and it is believed he has a suspected broken vertebrae in his neck.
Don Saunders, organiser of Sunday's event, said: 'The safety record on that road [the A11] in actual events is really good and the history of accidents is very low.
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'We had signs out and we do risk assessments. Dual carriageways, historically, are just as safe if not safer than going on single carriageway roads where there are lots of junctions.
'I've been doing time trials for 45 years and if I don't feel safe on a road, I wouldn't do that course again. The same is true when I'm organising an event, if I don't feel safe then I wouldn't get anyone else to cycle on it.'
Forty riders were taking part in Sunday's event which was organised by CC Breckland and started at one minute past 6am. Mr Dorsett had started at 6.28am and it is believed the accident happened just before 2.30pm.
The northbound carriageway was closed for less than an hour.
