Former Formula 1 driver Alex Zanardi has been taken to hospital after an accident during a handbike relay in his native Italy.
The 53-year-old was involved in a crash with a lorry in Pienza in Tuscany on Friday.
He was taken by helicopter to Siena’s Le Scotte, where he is in a serious condition.
Zanardi had both legs amputated after crashing in the American Memorial 500 Cart race at Lausitz, Germany, in 2001.
He has since become a four-time Paralympic handcycling gold medallist.
“I am so anxious and frightened about Alex Zanardi that I’m holding my breath. I am his fan. I am his friend,” tweeted former world Formula One champion Mario Andretti.
“Please do what I’m doing and pray, pray for for this wonderful man.”
Zanardi was taking part in an event called the Obiettivo Tricolore, a journey that sees the participants riding across Italy on handbikes, cycles or wheelchairs.