Rio Olympics 2016: Annamiek van Vleuten crashes out of Women's Road Race

Winning moment: Anna van der Breggen clinches the gold medal
Patrick Smith/Getty Images
Sam Long7 August 2016

Annamiek van Vleuten suffered a nasty fall during the closing stages of the Women's road race in Rio this afternoon.

The Dutchwoman was leading the field as they began their final descent for the finish line but lost control of her bike at a turn and came off the road.

A stricken Van Vleuten was immediately overtaken by American Mara Abbott but Anna van der Breggen evetually took gold after a thrilling sprint finish, while British hope Lizzie Armitstead finished fifth.

Van der Breggen was asked about Van Vleuten's fall after her victory and said: "I was pretty shocked about it, I think she crashed hard.

"I realised I was first in the team and had to chase. We knew we had to do it," she told the BBC.

As concern grows about Van Vleuten's condition the Dutch Cycling Federation offered an update on their rider: "Van Vleuten appears to be okay. More news will follow."

Meanwhile, Olympic cycling champion Chris Boardman offered a scathing assessment of the course: "I’m actually quite angry about it because I looked at the road furniture and thought nobody can crash here and get up.

"This was way past technical, this was dangerous, and it means people who designed the course have seen it and left it," he told the BBC.

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