Olympic cyclist Annemiek van Vleuten fractures spine during crash

Annemiek van Vleuten.
(Image credit: Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)

A Dutch Olympic cyclist is recovering after a bad crash Sunday that left her with three small fractures on her vertebrae.

Annemiek van Vleuten was leading in the end stages of a road race when she skidded near the bottom of a descent and crashed head-first into the road and curb, Reuters reports. After she was taken to the hospital, the Dutch Cycling Federation released a statement saying, "Annemiek has severe concussion and three small fracture particles in her lumbar spine. She will remain in hospital for 24 hours at [intensive care]. She is conscious and talking." You can watch her terrifying crash below. Catherine Garcia

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.