Powerless Garofoli shares harrowing story of collision: "As if my life didn’t matter"
Gianmarco Garofoli is currently staying in Spain, where the Soudal Quick-Step rider is preparing for his upcoming races. However, the Italian climber experienced the scare of his life during a training camp at altitude. He was hit by a car, but the driver drove off after the accident.
The still shaken Garofoli is fortunately able to tell the story and shares his experience on Instagram. "I’m struggling to find the right words. These images tell the story of a moment that has affected me more than I can put into words," he begins his emotional account.
"I was hit by a driver who then fled the scene. He came from behind, traveling at a speed well over 100 kilometers per hour—far above the speed limit. I was perfectly visible to motorists: I was wearing a bright yellow jacket and had a flashing red rear light. Yet this was no reason for him to slow down. He did nothing."
"I felt vulnerable"
Garofoli was struck at high speed by the motorist. "He hit me with his mirror and the front of the car. At that moment, I realized that if he had hit me full on, I probably wouldn’t be here anymore. After the impact, I felt powerless, vulnerable, and completely at the mercy of something I had no control over. But the worst part was that he just drove away."
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"He drove away and left me there, on the asphalt, as if my life was worthless," Garofoli continues, who then managed to track down the culprit. "I then, still in shock, walked back to the hotel and happened to see a white Seat parked nearby, which looked exactly like the car that hit me. The mirror was broken... The same mirror that I had picked up off the ground just minutes earlier."
Call to action
"I immediately called the Guardia Civil (the Spanish national police). They took over the case and identified the driver," says Garofoli, who went to the hospital for a medical check-up himself. "Nothing was broken. I only have a lot of bruises on the left side of my body, but something definitely is broken inside."
"I’m not sharing this to stir controversy, but to remind everyone how vulnerable we cyclists are on the road. And how one second, one wrong choice, is enough to change a life. This has happened now. Tomorrow we move on, with a little more fear, but with a lot of gratitude that we’re still here," he concludes.
