Dygert out after horror crash, Van der Breggen wins TT gold

(Reuters) – American race favorite Chloe Dygert experienced a major leg personal injury right after a horror crash in the unique time demo at the UCI Highway Globe Championships as Dutchwoman Anna van der Breggen claimed gold on Thursday.

The 23-calendar year-previous defending winner Dygert was location a searing rate on the 31.7km circuit at Imola and appeared certain for a different gold in advance of shedding command.

Dygert, a 10-situations earth champion on keep track of and road, was 26 seconds in advance at the intermediate checkpoint but on a quick descent her bike wobbled as she came into a corner.

Even with taking care of to shed some pace she ran out of street, hit a guard rail and flipped about the top rated and down an embankment.

She was treated by paramedics at the scene prior to staying taken to clinic in Bologna.

United states Cycling said she experienced been aware and chatting.

Photos posted on social media showed Dygert being taken absent from the scene on a stretcher with a drip connected though another appeared to present a gruesome deep gash higher than her still left knee.

Her mentor, 3-time Olympic gold medallist Kristin Armstrong verified to website Cyclingnews that Dygert had suffered a serious laceration.

“Currently we never know the prognosis however. I know for a truth that she was flown to a hospital in Bologna and that she is currently being noticed by medical professionals in the emergency space now,” she explained.

“They were all concerned with a deep laceration to her leg, where she hit that guard rail, it’s horrifying and sickening, and it is likely to be a really hard recovery for Chloe.

“This is certainly a severe incident but she will search back on it and hopefully be in a position to say that she was blessed in a ton of means. It could have been a lot more really serious.”

Olympic street race winner Van der Breggen, who concluded next guiding Dygert previous yr in Harrogate when the American gained by a document margin, claimed victory in 40:20.14, 15 seconds quicker than Swiss Marlen Reusser with Ellen van Dijk (Netherlands) in 3rd position.

“Getting second (in the TT) for quite a few decades, I would say that I genuinely can’t feel it nevertheless,” Van der Breggen explained.

Dygert, who rides in trademark pink socks and footwear, has grew to become the new golden woman of American biking.

Following dominating the time trial at final year’s highway environment championships she run the Us residents to victory in crew pursuit at the observe planet championships in Berlin this year, also profitable the 3km unique pursuit in a globe file time.

She would have long gone for observe and road gold at the Tokyo Olympics this 12 months had the Video games not been postponed.

The UCI Highway Earth Championships were being originally scheduled to be held in Aigle-Martigny in Switzerland but were being moved to Imola since of the coronavirus pandemic.

Motion carries on on Friday with the men’s elite time demo.