British Cycling coach Shane Sutton admits no memory of crash

British Cycling and Team Sky head coach Shane Sutton says he remembers nothing of the crash which saw him suffer bleeding on the brain.

Sutton, 55, was involved in a recent accident while cycling along the A6 near Manchester suburb Levenshulme.

When asked what he remembered from the incident, he told BBC Sport: "Nothing. From 8.40 in the morning until 12.20 in the afternoon, not a thing."

The coach was wearing a helmet which he believes saved his life.

"For me it [wearing a helmet] was very important, but that is a personal thing," he added.

"A lot of people have serious accidents with helmets and without. On this occasion I was glad I had a helmet on.

"But that's a personal thing, it is like a bike. You buy a particular kind of bike and a particular kind of helmet. For me, it saved my life.

"I don't feel 100 per cent at the moment, I am just sitting in the stands, quite relaxed. It is going to take time, the doctors said that."

Dave Brailsford's second in command at both British Cycling and Team Sky, suffered bruising and bleeding on the brain and a fractured cheekbone, but is recovering well and was at the the Track World Cup in Glasgow, the first international competition at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome on Friday.

The Australian is credited with being an influential figure in British cycling's recent rise - which saw them claim eight gold medals at London 2012.

Sutton's accident happened less than 12 hours after Tour de France champion Bradley Wiggins, 32, was knocked off his bike, suffering rib and hand injuries.

"In Brad's case, it is not good to have any type of accident, but if he was going to have one now is the time when we are in the early phase of getting ready for next year," said Sutton.

"He's on the mend. He is feeling good, he is about to go to Mallorca to do a 10-day block. We are happy where we are."

Sutton also called on the government to do more to protect cyclists on the road now that more and more people are using bikes.

"I think there needs to be more awareness," he added.

"It has become very corporate, there are so many more people on bikes.

"We need to have better infrastructures, we have the best cyclists in the world in Manchester but we do not have the network to cater for them and it is something that needs to be looked at from a government point of view."