Tour de Israel accident: Cyclist severely injured
International cycling event opens on wrong foot after female cyclist falls in Golan Heights, suffers head injury
A female bicyclist on Monday was severely injured after falling and hitting her head near the Golan Heights city of Katzrin.
Magen David Adom Yarden District treated the 30-year-old cyclist on the scene, and she was later evacuated via Lahak Aviation Emergency Medical Services Helicopter to Haifa's Rambam Medical Center.
Head of police transportation unit at Galilee District, Superintendent Eitan Raz told Ynet, "At around 11 am the race passed through the Golan Heights city of Katzrin. One of the female cyclists rode at high speed and passed over a speed bump, which made her lose control of the bicycle, flip over and injure her head. Transportation unit investigators are examining the evidence and collecting testimonies from eyewitness."
Cyclists ride through the Golan Heights (Photo: Avihu Shapira)
Deputy Manager of MDA Yarden region Shimon Avitbul said, "The woman sustained severe injuries to her head after she was tossed off her bicycle. She received blows from both the bicycle and the road. An MDA medical team stabilized the bicyclist's condition and escorted her on the Lahak Aviation helicopter.
The race kicked off Sunday morning in Nahariya and its first day came to a close at the Mount Hermon site. Monday morning the cyclists resumed the race from Kfar Giladi and are slated to ride through the Golan Heights and finish the day at the Nazareth amphitheater.
The event's organizers considered canceling the race after police demanded a payment of NIS 214,000 (approximately $56,500) to close traffic routes from the northern border and all the way south to Eilat.
The Tour de Israel country-wide cycling event is recognized by the world's leading professionals in the field. One-hundred-twenty-four cyclists, 44 of them foreigners, registered for the first of its kind event in the Holy Land.
According to the program, the five-day race will cover 768 km (477 miles). The scenic route will pass by the Mediterranean Sea, Galilee Mountains, Mount Hermon peak, the Sea of Galilee, Beit She'an and Nazareth. From there, the cyclists will ride along the Jordan Rift Valley and the Dead Sea, through Masada to the Negev mountains and finally reach Eilat.
