Ballarat cyclist Liam White's preparations for the AusCycling Road National Championships have been thrown into disarray after a heavy race fall in Tasmania.
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White suffered a broken collarbone and concussion in a crash in the hectic closing moments of the final stage of Tasmania Cycling Tour in Devonport on Sunday.
The 29-year-old was sizing up a clean sweep of sprints in the criterium when he went down with about 300m to go.
The tumble provided White with a bittersweet moment.
He still claimed the tour's sprint classification - his first overall jersey in a National Road Series event - but it was his path to the RoadNats in Ballarat on January 3 to 7 that was foremost on his mind when he spoke to The Courier from Tasmania on Monday.
White said as his form in Tasmania had reinforced, he had been riding at his peak and had been looking to have a real crack in the last RoadNats to be contested in Ballarat before being relocated after two decades in the city.
White hopes to have a plate inserted in the collarbone this week to speed up his recovery.
While putting it down to a racing incident, he was annoyed given he believed it could have been avoided.
He said he moved up on the outside of the last corner (a left turn) and believed he had the pace to secure a third sprint victory for the stage.
Forced wide, he jumped a kerb before crashing into a grassed area - smashing his helmet in the process.
White said he was left dazed from sometime. "I was delirious for a while. I'm still a little foggy and have a headache, but I'll be okay."
He said it was such a disappointing way to finish what had been a great tour for him.
He won the first stage to claim the general classification leader's yellow jersey.
The stage win also gave him the lead in the sprint classification, which he held through the next three stages.
This is not the first time White has had his lead-up to the RoadNats.
He was also injured in a race fall in an NRS event New South Wales a month before the 2021 Road Nationals - suffering a shoulder injury, which also required surgery.
