French cyclist Ronan Auge has been placed in a medically induced coma after a crash at the Tour of Langkawi in Malaysia. The 22-year-old sustained serious injuries on the sixth stage of the UCI ProSeries event and was subsequently taken to hospital.
A statement from his team, Unibet Rose Rockets, described Auge's condition as "currently stable and not life threatening."
This incident follows a series of serious crashes in road cycling, with six riders reportedly dying in road races over the past three years. This includes British cyclist Fin Tarling, who was killed in a crash with a vehicle in August during the UCI Europe tour's Volta a Portugal. American rider Ezra Caudell was also hospitalised last month with "multi-system trauma" after a crash at the Philadelphia Cycling Classic.
The Tour of Langkawi, an eight-stage event that is part of the UCI's second-tier tour, is being held on the western side of the Malaysian mainland and is scheduled to conclude on Sunday.