It was a tale of contrasting fortunes for two Dutch cyclists.
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Annemiek van Vleuten has suffered a horror crash in the Women’s Road Race at the Rio 2016 Olympics.
Van Vleuten had her competitors and the cycling world holding their breath after she went over her handlebars at high speed on the final descent 11km from the finish in slippery conditions in Rio. She was transported to a hospital and diagnosed with broken vertebrae and a concussion.
The 33 year-old played down her injuries when she took to Twitter later Sunday to reassure her followers she was “fine” and expressed her disappointment at crashing out of the most significant race of her career to date.
Former Olympic cyclist Chris Boardman has since lead the criticism of the Games’ organizers and branded the route as “too dangerous”.
Unfortunaely for Abbott, her legs had nothing left.
Van der Breggen sprinted to victory ahead of runner-up Emma Johansson (Sweden) and third-placed Elisa Longo Borghini (Italy) after the trio had caught solo leader Mara Abbott (United States) inside the last 400m.
She was 5min behind van der Breggen, who will be Villumsen’s main rival in her top event the time trial on Thursday (NZT).
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) – Annemiek van Vleuten of the Netherlands was conscious and responsive after a spectacular crash in the women’s Olympic road race Sunday that helped countrywoman Anna van der Breggen claim gold. “KNWU doctor is with her”, the KNWU reported.
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“I won the biggest race of my career so I’m really happy but I’m really hoping Annemiek is okay”, she told Reuters.
