cycling: Olympia: horror fall overshadows women's road race - gold for van der Breggen

Olympics / cycling: Anna van der Breggen has won the Olympic women's road race. The 26-year-old from the Netherlands prevailed in the final sprint of a reduced group against Emma Johansson (Sweden) and Elisa Longo Borghini (Italy). Lisa Brennauer had a bad day and crossed the finish line a long way behind. The race was overshadowed by a terrible crash by Annemiek van Vleuten.

It was another exciting day of cycling in Rio de Janeiro: just like the men yesterday, the women fought a gripping battle for medal places on the same course today. However, the focus at the moment is not on the gold medal for Anna van der Breggen from the Netherlands, but on the state of health of her compatriot Annemiek van Vleuten: The Dutchwoman dominated the race together with the American Mara Abbott during the final climb and risked the following descent on a damper surface Road a lot – too much: In one of the many dangerous curves, a small brake application was enough, the wheel overturned and sent van Vleuten headfirst into the rain gutter on the side of the road, which had already been criticized in advance. Nothing more is known about the health of the 33-year-old at the moment, but Dutch media reports that she is now conscious again and the Dutch Cycling Federation is also cautiously positive. We keep our fingers crossed and hope that she is doing well given the circumstances.

We have had word from the Dutch Cycling Federation that Annemiek van Vleuten is "okay"

We wish her all the best. https://t.co/aWWLNidxaD

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) August 7, 2016

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Abbott was visibly shocked to see her escape companion fall. As a result, the American, who had been so strong until then, lost a lot of time to the chasing trio around Anna van der Breggen. 250m before the finish line, the bravely fighting Abbott was caught. Van der Breggen, Emma Johansson and Elisa Longo Borghini fought it out for victory and the podium places - with the better end for the Dutchwoman, who gave her competitors no chance. The German riders had a bad day - above all Lisa Brennauer, who was hotly traded in the run-up to the event, for whom it was only 19th place with a deficit of more than 5 minutes.

Final Result Women's Olympic Road Race