Bradley Wiggins In Hospital After Bike Crash

Police are to speak to a van driver who was involved a crash with Tour de France winner and Olympic gold medallist Bradley Wiggins.

Wiggins, 32, was thrown from his bike in the accident at a petrol station near to his home in Lancashire on Thursday night.

The father-of-two suffered a broken rib, a dislocated finger or thumb and cuts and bruises.

He was conscious when taken by ambulance to Royal Preston Hospital and was discharged on Thursday afternoon.

His helmet was cracked but he suffered no head injury. He was reportedly given morphine and a precautionary scan of his head.

The winner of four Olympic gold medals, including this year's men's time trial, was due to attend a number of interviews to promote his book My Time, which is published today.

An ambulance was called to the scene of the crash in Crow Orchard Road, Wrightington, shortly before 6.10pm.

Garage attendant Yasmin Smith, who went to Wiggins' aid, told Sky News: "There was a loud screeching of tyres and a rather big bang. A customer said there'd been an accident so I shot out to see a gentleman on the pavement.

"He did look in a lot of pain with his ribs more than anything - he kept holding himself. His colour changed in his face and he was deteriorating within minutes with the pain.

"I didn't realise who he actually was until he got into the ambulance - I was more concerned about his health."

The driver of the white Vauxhall Astra Envoy, a local woman, was uninjured in the collision.

A broken wing mirror from her vehicle was laying on a grass verge near the exit of the petrol station.

Cycling journalist William Fotheringham, who helped Wiggins with his new autobiography, reported that Wiggins was riding a mountain bike en route to meeting a group of local cyclists near his home in Eccleston, between Preston and Wigan.

In a statement on its website, Team Sky said Wiggins was being kept in hospital for observation but the injuries he has sustained are not thought to be serious "and he is expected to make a full and speedy recovery".

Wiggins was out of action for four weeks with a broken collarbone suffered during the 2011 Tour de France.