Annemiek van Vleuten defies broken elbow to win UCI Road World Championship 2022 title
The Dutch road cycling Olympic gold medallist won her second world title in Wollongong, Australia, ahead of Lotte Kopecky and Silvia Persico in silver and bronze respectively.
Cycling Road
Annemiek van Vleuten won her second UCI Road World Championships title on Saturday (24 September) just three days after breaking her elbow.
The Dutch road cycling star, who won time trial gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in 2021, crashed heavily during the mixed relay team time trial in Wollongong (Australia) on Wednesday (21 September).
It put her participation into today's road race, for which she was the overwhelming favourite, into doubt. But the good news came through yesterday Van Vleuten was cleared by team doctors to compete.
With a bunch of 15 riders regrouping for the final sprint of the race, she pulled off a spectacular late solo attack to complete the 164.3 km course in 4:24:25 and clinch her second world title.
Belgium’s Lotte Kopecky sealed second, while Silvia Persico of Italy completed the podium with bronze.
Speaking after her win, Van Vleuten said: "I felt like hell today. Before I broke my elbow, I had the plan to attack on Mount Keira, but now I was a domestique with a fractured elbow.
"I really can't believe it. I was waiting for them to catch me, but they didn't."
Van Vleuten won her first rainbow jersey in 2019, before winning time trial gold and road race silver at Tokyo 2020.
The 39-year-old, who is set to retire in 2023, continued her sizzling form this season, winning the Giro d'Italia Donne, the Tour de France Femmes, and the Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta, an unprecedented triple.