Baroncini returns to Italy after serious Tour de Pologne crash

Filippo Baroncini was transported to Italy on Sunday evening following his heavy crash at the Tour de Pologne earlier in the week. The UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider remains in an induced coma as a precaution, but his condition has been described as “stable.”

The 24-year-old sustained fractures to his face and vertebrae as well as a broken collarbone when he was among the fallers in the mass crash that caused the neutralisation of stage 3 of the Tour de Pologne.

Baroncini was due to leave Poland at 6pm on Sunday evening and he will be transferred to the Niguarda hospital in Milan, where he will undergo surgery on his facial injuries.

“It’s a remarkable success that we’re transporting him to Italy right now, he’s due to fly at around 6 o’clock and he should arrive in Milan this evening,” UAE Team Emirates-XRG manager Mauro Gianetti said after the final stage of the Tour de Pologne on Sunday. 

“He’ll be at home and he’ll be in the care of the Niguarda hospital in Milan, so we see that as a real success. The important thing is that he’s well. His vital parameters are all good, so it will be a question of time, patience and passion for life, but he’ll come back stronger than before.”

Baroncini had been in hospital in Wałbrzych since Wednesday evening. His family had made the journey from Italy to be by his bedside, and Gianetti also came to Poland expressly to visit his rider.

“It makes a strong impression when you see your rider in the intensive care unit, but the medical staff there was really exceptional,” Gianetti said. “They really took Filippo’s case to heart, and they followed him at all times. They stabilised him, and it’s thanks to their work that we can be confident for the future.”

Baroncini’s teammate Brandon McNulty won the overall title at the Tour de Pologne after powering to victory in the final time trial to the Wieliczka Salt Mine. He dedicated the win to Baroncini.

“We’re all riding with him all week,” McNulty said. “Today, it was nice to get a win for him. We’re all thinking of him, of course, all week since he left.”