Italian ultracyclist Giovanni Prosperi is in critical condition in Rochester, New York, after being struck by a car while riding in a self-supported endurance event in the United States.
Prosperi, 51, was flown by Life Flight helicopter to Strong Memorial Hospital at the University of Rochester Medical Center, a Level I trauma centre. According to an appeal published Tuesday 15 September 2026 by his longtime crew chief, Luca Masini, Prosperi sustained thoracic vertebral fractures requiring stabilisation surgery. The operation has been postponed because he is not stable enough to undergo surgery. He remains intubated and on a ventilator in intensive care, receiving vasopressor support, while doctors treat septic shock and pneumonia.
His wife, gastroenterologist Katarina Greer, is staying near the hospital. The family has opened a PayPal fund, Help Giovanni Prosperi Fight, citing intensive-care costs and the risk of exhausting their insurance policy’s lifetime maximum.
Born in Sora, Lazio, Italy, and a resident of Ohio since 2018, Prosperi won the 2021 Race Across America two-person relay in 8 days 14 hours 4 minutes and completed the RAAM solo race in 2025. He finished third overall at the 2024 Race Across the West, won the solo division of the Hoodoo 500 in 40:27:00, and holds a WUCA world record for the Bratislava-to-Rome route. As a coach, he has guided several riders to RAAM solo finishes.
No police statement has been released. The organising event, crash location and date have not been publicly confirmed.
Photo Credit: iamgosolo.com
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