The crash left her in a motionless heap on the side of the road before being taken to hospital by ambulance.
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The Dutch Cycling Federation initially said she was conscious and had been taken to hospital.
Top male riders like Italy’s Vincenzo Nibali, Australia’s Richie Porte and Briton Geraint Thomas all crashed on the descent the previous day in the men’s race.
Speaking to the BBC after the race, Olympic cycling champion Chris Boardman couldn’t hold back his views on the course safety. She tumbled onto the road and her bike went flying, and she remained on the edge of the pavement as the rest of the field swept past. “The peloton is so small and we all know each other very well”. We just want to know she is OK.
After viewing the crash, Boardman had said: “I’m actually quite angry about it because I looked at the road furniture and thought nobody can crash here and get up. Congrats to @AnnavdBreggen! We were a super strong team today with @ellenvdijk and @marianne_vos“, she tweeted Sunday.
And although Van der Breggen reveled in her success, Van Vleuten wasn’t far from her thoughts.
Lammerts said he would join van Vleuten at the hospital after wrapping up events at the cycling venue.
Mara Abbott did everything in her power to squeeze out a victory in the dramatic ending to the women’s road race Sunday in Rio de Janeiro. “I think she crashed hard”, der Breggen told The Guardian. But the physical injuries might not be as painful as the disappointment of crashing while leading arguably the biggest race of Van Vleuten’s career.
The 33-year-old was taken to hospital following the accident on a course which has been criticised by leading figures in world cycling for being too risky, and has kept well-wishers informed of her condition on Twitter throughout her ordeal.
Van Vleuten’s compratiot Anna van der Breggen went on to win a dramatic gold in a sprint at Copacabana beach, and the injured Van Vleuten sent her congratulations.
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Road racing concludes on Wednesday with the men’s and women’s individual time trials which will be raced on the less problematic Grumari section of the road race course.
