Favourites put out of contention in major crash at the World Championships women’s road race
Several riders went down in a large crash on the first lap of the Montréal circuit
A significant crash during the women's road race at the World Championships left many of the pre-race favorites unable to continue, with numerous riders crashing while about 95 kilometers remained. Reigning champion Magdeleine Vallières (Canada) was among those who fell, having aimed to defend her title on home soil after her win in Kigali the previous year.
Unfortunately, the crash forced her to abandon the race midway through the third lap. Last year's U23 world champion Paula Blasi (Spain) also encountered difficulties, suffering a second fall during the race and ultimately abandoning shortly thereafter. The crash severely impacted Caroline Andersson (Sweden) and Lauretta Hanson (Australia), both of whom were immediately taken to the hospital, with Hanson requiring ambulance transport.
Conscious and stable, the two riders' injuries remained unspecified. Additionally, Niamh Fisher-Black (New Zealand), Sigrid Ytterhus Haugset (Norway), Flora Perkins (Great Britain), and Christina Schweinberger (Austria) also decided to withdraw due to the crash. Kim Le Court (Mauritius) narrowly escaped the worst of the crash, finding himself behind a split caused by it as other riders struggled to make up ground on the main group. The teams of the favorites continued their pursuit despite the crash.
Written by urgent.news from Cycling Weekly's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
