Annemiek van Vleuten suffered a heavy fall after a few tens of meters during the mixed time trial relay at the World Cycling Championships in Wollongong.
While the male torchbearers (left first) had been slowed down by a mechanical problem Bauke Mollemathe Dutch riders wanted to go full throttle to catch up.
A pursuit that was stopped dead after a few meters. van Vleuten lost his balance and suddenly skidded to hit the sidewalk and hit the ground violently. Visibly shocked by this completely unexpected fall, the Dutch did not leave.
“My front tire blew and I crashed,” van Vleuten tweeted after the race.
If this setback prevented the Dutch from playing for the win (5th), the concern in the Dutch camp is directed towards the women’s road race. “I’m on the way to the hospital for an x-ray. I’m all scratched up on my right side and I’m particularly worried about my right elbow/arm,” van Vleuten said.
Dominant of the season with her successes in the Giro, the Tour de France and the Vuelta or even in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, van Vleuten is obviously a candidate for victory in the road race. An event she has already won in 2019.