Padova's Giro del Veneto ended in disaster for the Linda McCartney Pro Cycling Team, as both former British champion Matthew Stephens and rising Australian star Ben Brooks crashed out. The pair, who had been sharing a room at the team hotel, were taken to separate hospitals after two separate crashes… both with broken collarbones.

"Crazy, isn't it?" reflected a rueful Matt Stephens back in the cursed Room 229. "It's almost a year to the day since I had that accident in Canada, and it looks like I have broken it again in exactly the same place, so actually that would class as the shoulder rather than the collar bone. Maybe it didn't heal properly last time."

This is at least the seventh time this season that Matt has crashed with enough severity to warrant medical attention. With his teammates dubbing the Cheshire rider "Lucky" Stephens now, is he concerned that he may have a problem with handling his sleek Principia race bike? "No, I honestly don't think so. On only one occasion can I hold my hand up and say 'Ok, that was my fault,' this year. Every other one has been bad luck that would have brought any man down. Today, the descent was greasy and three of us came down - there was nothing I could do."

His manager Sean Yates will need convincing though: he had talked with Matt about his frequent crashes that very morning! "We'll get Matt back to England and assess the damage. He isn't in any real pain, it's just a case of trying to ensure it heals properly. He is already targeting the Circuit Franco-Belge at the end of September for his comeback, then looking to keep his condition for the World Championships in Brittany." Overlooked by the GB team for the Olympics, Matt is determined to finish his season strongly at the Worlds.

Spooky Saturday continued just a few kilometres after Matt's spill, when Ben Brooks came back through the field to collect some bottles from Sean's team car. "Matt's crashed and broken his collar bone," he was told. "No way! Poor Matt!" said Ben, before zipping back up into the action. Just seconds later, Sean rounded a corner to see Ben chest-high in a roadside ditch, dizzy and disorientated, with no idea how he came to be there.

"I'd landed on my head and was talking nonsense when they got there, passing out and stuff, so they took me off in the ambo," said a disappointed Ben from his hospital bed. His right arm bandaged and strapped to the side of his body, he had also undergone a precautionary brainscan. "I feel fine now, but I have to wait here 48 hours - that's what they do when you've had a knock like this. I'm really pissed off 'cause I was looking to give these next few races a big nudge. I'm in pretty good shape and my folks are here from New South Wales to see me race… now this happens. I'm never rooming with Lucky Stephens again!"

The accidents left the team stretched a bit thin, though Max Sciandri continued his good Olympic preparation by finishing well up in Padova alongside his trusty new teammate Mirko Puglioli. Davide Rebellin gave another poke in the eye to the Italian selectors by winning this extremely difficult race for the third consecutive year. Marco Pantani, surprisingly selected ahead of the Liquigas man for Sydney, finished with the rest of the McCartney squad in the main field. Ciaran Power and Bjornar Vestol both feel that their form is coming together for Australia, with these hard races forming excellent preparation.

So Matt Stephens awaits a flight to Manchester, and Ben Brooks is hoping to leave Padova hospital on Monday morning to return to Toulouse. With Sean Yates and masseur Adrian Timmis looking after Ben at Padova hospital and press officer John Deering wheeling Matt around Vicenza casualty, the McCartney team resembled an episode of Only When I Laugh this weekend. Lets hope they will be laughing for real after Thursday's Trofeo Melinda, high in the mountains near the Swiss border.

* Sean Yates and Craig Geater were forced to cancel a trip to Switzerland to take part in the mass-participation ride in Pascal Richard's honour on Sunday, due to the accidents. They sent the great man their best wishes and apologies, and rescheduled their meeting until the Olympic Champion has sufficiently recovered from tonsillitis to lead the McCartney team again in September.

Injury Update and more from Giro del Veneto...

• August 31st, Trofeo Melinda, Italy
• September 2nd, Coppa Placci, Italy
• September 3rd, Giro di Romagna, Italy