Canadian cycling team member Stefan Ritter is recovering from a head injury in an Edmonton hospital after crashing heavily at the Pan American Track Championships in Aguascalientes, Mexico.
Ritter, 20, is in stable condition but remains in intensive care at the Royal Alexandra Hospital, according to Cycling Canada spokesperson Karine Bédard.
The Edmonton cyclist was injured Aug. 30 during the men’s Keirin event, a type of sprint, Bédard said in a news release Monday.
“He lost consciousness and was treated immediately at track side by Canadian medical staff before taken being to hospital where he was sedated and placed in intensive care,” she said.
When an ICU bed opened up in Edmonton last Tuesday, Ritter was transferred by air ambulance.
“Stefan’s treatment is focused on his head injury,” she said.
“Despite the severity of the crash, his only other serious injury was a fracture to his cheek bone, which is expected to heal in due course.”
Medical staff and Ritter’s family are optimistic he will make a full recovery, she said.