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German track cyclists hospitalised after being hit by car while training

Germany's cycling team - including Tobias Buck-Gramcko - in action during the Paris Olympics
Germany's cycling team - including Tobias Buck-Gramcko - in action during the Paris OlympicsJAN WOITAS / DPA via AFP
Six German cyclists were hospitalised in Mallorca on Monday after being hit by a car while out on a training run, the German cycling federation and Spanish police announced.

Some of the six riders "have fractures" but none have "serious injuries," a spokesman for the Spanish Civil Guard told AFP.

The accident occurred at around 10:30am in Palma, a seaside town, when "for unknown reasons an 89-year-old driver swerved off the road," the spokesman added.

The German Cycling Federation said the riders were members of the national track team and named those injured as Benjamin Boos, Tobias Buck-Gramcko, Bruno Kessler, Moritz Augenstein, Louis Gentzik and Max-David Briese.

"This morning, the training group set off on a training ride from their hotel in Palma and were hit by a car after just 2.7 kilometres," said German Cycling.

There have been a series of out-of-competition traffic accidents involving professional cyclists in recent years.

Ninteen-year-old Italian Sara Piffer died Friday after being hit by a car during a training session in the northern Dolomites, the association of Italian racing cyclists said.

According to reports, a 70-year-old man driving in the other direction struck Piffer and her brother, who was only slightly injured, while overtaking another vehicle.