Dutchwoman Annemiek van Vleuten will not defend her UCI Road World Championships crown in Imola next week after she sustained a broken wrist in a crash while riding for Mitchelton-Scott at the Giro Rosa.
Race leader Van Vleuten, 37, was unable to avoid riders falling in front of her in the final part of the seventh stage on Thursday and was ruled out of the remainder of the race.
Two-times winner Van Vleuten's Australian team mate Amanda Spratt was also withdrawn after suffering a shoulder injury in the crash.
"I felt immediately it wasn't good with my wrist, because I saw that my wrist was not straight. I'll go home now and have an operation on my wrist on Saturday," Van Vleuten said in a statement https://www.greenedgecycling.com/news/van-vleuten-and-spratt-forced-to-withdraw-giro-rosa-after-stage-seven-crash on the team's website.
"I'm super sad that it's not possible to defend the Maglia Rosa ... even more, no worlds on a course that suits me. I'm disappointed that I can't defend my world champion's jersey."
This year's Championships will be held from Sept. 24-27.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
