The rising cyclocross star recently won the USCX series title. A GoFundMe seeks support for his medical care and family.
Tofik Beshir remains in an in ICU after a head-on collision with a vehicle, and a GoFundMe account has been started. (Photo: Getty Images/Instagram)
Published October 11, 2026 05:15AM
Collegiate cyclist Tofik Beshir remains unconscious in intensive care after a head-on collision with a vehicle during a training ride Thursday near Lees-McRae College in North Carolina.
The 19-year-old was riding on a gravel road near campus in Banner Elk when the October 8 collision knocked him unconscious, according to officials. Emergency crews airlifted him to Johnson City Medical Center in Tennessee.
Timothy Hall, the college’s cycling director and head coach, confirmed the incident Saturday. Details of the collision have not been confirmed.
“I would love to be able to share more specifics of his injuries, but I am not at liberty to do so at this time,” Hall said in a video posted on Instagram.
A GoFundMe post said that the injuries are “consistent with brain shear trauma.”
A GoFundMe campaign has begun to raise $200,000 to help cover medical treatment, rehabilitation and expenses for his family. So far, more than $85,000 has been raised.
Hall said Beshir’s family and closest friends were with him and asked supporters to avoid hospital visits for now.
“Do you believe in miracles? I believe in miracles, and it is a miracle that Tofik is still alive,” he said. “We believe the best support right now would be through your prayers and your thoughts.”
Beshir was born in Ethiopia and raised in Arlington, Virginia, and entered college this fall. The Lees-McRae freshman competes across multiple disciplines, but cyclocross delivered some of his biggest results, including wins last week at the Charm City CX in Maryland.
The college has deep roots with cycling, and former WorldTour pros Brent Bookwalter and Andrew Talansky both studied there.
The crash comes less than two months after a driver struck members of Milligan University’s cycling team during an August 19 training ride in Hampton, Tennessee.
Sophomores Haylan Engdahl and Brayden Rogers were killed, and seven teammates were injured, another devastating blow to the American collegiate cycling community.