Cycling: Patrick Bevin ruled out of New Zealand National Road Championships after training crash

Patrick Bevin in Cannondale-Drapac colours in the 2017 mens elite road race. This year he is riding for BMC. Photo / Photosport

Title contender Patrick Bevin will miss this week's New Zealand National Road Championships after picking up injuries in a training crash.

Bevin crashed last weekend while training in New Zealand but was fortunate not to suffer any serious injuries.

The 26-year-old is a new recruit to the US-based BMC Racing Team and will now be hoping to make his racing debut with his new team at the Santos Tour Down Under, Australia's premier road race.

The team's chief medical officer Dr Max Testa said Bevin was lucky to escape relatively unharmed.

"Patrick crashed on a descent in training and was taken to hospital for examination which revealed a deep contusion on his right elbow and some road rash," said Testa.

"Luckily, he did not suffer a concussion and the injuries were quite isolated. Although a skin graft was initially considered, the elbow only required stitches."

He indicated that Bevin will need to stay off the bike for five to seven days before returning to training which will rule him out of the New Zealand National Time Trial and Road Race Championships.

"We will continue to monitor his recovery in the next week but we expect Patrick to recover quickly," said Testa.

Bevin also said the injuries could've been much worse considering the circumstances of the crash.

"I hit a melted piece of tar on the road which sent me flying over my handlebars without any warning and I landed on my right elbow," said Bevin.

"I'm not feeling too bad but I'm a bit gutted about it because you never want to crash in training. I was going fairly quickly so I'm a bit banged up but I'm pretty lucky considering it was a big, wide, and fast piece of road."

The National Championships will be held in Napier from 5-7 January, beginning with the national time trials on Friday.