Lizzie Armitstead wins Stage 1 in Aldeburgh, suffers dramatic crash with other riders
It's almost painful to watch. The events in this video show a crash just after the line of Stage 1 of the Aviva Women's Tour in Aldeburgh, U.K.
It’s almost painful to watch.
The events in this video show a crash just after the line of Stage 1 of the Aviva Women’s Tour in Aldeburgh, U.K. Lizzie Armitstead of Boels Dolmans came out of a bunch sprint in front, winning both the stage and the leader’s jersey. Arms raised, Armitstead appears to lose control on the narrow road as she speeds past the finish. First she crashes, colliding with race director Mick Bennett, before another crash takes out other cyclists on the right. Three riders appear to go down, piling into a heap of broken bikes.
From the video, it appears that a riderless bike had careened uncontrollably into the other cyclists—possibly Armitstead’s. Still, whether or not the two crashes were connected is unknown.
Armitstead received oxygen and was put in a neck brace, but otherwise, her exact condition has yet to be disclosed. Going into Thursday’s second stage, assuming she’s able to race, Armitstead’s win Wednesday moves her into the lead ahead of Velocio-SRAM’s Lisa Brennauer, four seconds behind, and five seconds ahead of Marta Tagliaferro of Alé Cipollini.
