Annemiek van Vleuten in stable condition after fracturing spine during women's road cycling race
Updated 07/08/2016 — 21H58Dutchwoman crashed while leading, and compatriot Anna van der Breggen went on to take gold
Annemiek van Vleuten was at the front of the peloton when she crashed (Photo: Getty Images/Bryn Lennon)
Dutch rider Anna van der Breggen won the women's road cycling race on Sunday (7 August) but her victory was overshadowed by a serious accident suffered by her compatriot Annemiek van Vleuten, who was leading when she crashed on the Vista Chinesa descent.
The 33-year-old Dutchwoman sustained severe concussion and three small fractures to her lumbar spine and will remain in intensive care after crashing on a steep descent. Van Vleuten was leading on the fast, slippery descent of Vista Chinesa when she appeared to lock up her brakes on the final corner.
She tumbled onto the road and her bike went flying, and she remained on the edge of the course as the rest of the field swept past. Team-mate Van der Breggen went on to win the gold medal.
The Dutch team said Van Vleuten was conscious when she was loaded into an ambulance, and Chef de Mission Maurits Hendriks and team doctors said she was stable and speaking Sunday night. It was still not known when she would be released.
"It was horrendous crash," road race silver medalist Emma Johansson of Sweden said. "The peloton is so small and we all know each other very well. I just hope she's OK."
The International Cycling Union (UCI) – cycling's governing body – said is a statement: "Ms. van Vleuten is conscious, able to communicate. Further medical checks currently being made at the hospital."
Anna van der Breggen celebrates winning the road race in Copacabana (Rio 2016/Patrick Smith)
Van Vleuten went over her handlebars with about 12 kilometres to go. Van der Breggen, who won the race in three hours, 51.27 seconds, said: "I was really shocked when I saw the crash and it didn't look good but I had to focus and keep on with the race."
Van der Breggen joined Sweden's Emma Johansson and Italian Elisa Longo Borghini in a frantic race to catch American Mara Abbott. After passing her within sight of the finish line, the Dutchwoman had just enough kick to win the sprint along Copacabana Beach.
Van der Breggen thrust her arms in the air as thousands of fans lining the course roared approval.
It meant that the women's Olympic road race title stays with the Netherlands after Marianne Vos captured gold four years ago in London.
Johansson added another silver to her one from Beijing in 2008. Borghini matched Imelda Chiappa's performance at the 1996 Atlanta Games for the best finish by an Italian woman.
