The bone-crunching moment a Dutch female cyclist crashes and flies over her handlebars just a few miles short of Olympic glory
- Anniemiek van Vleuten was descending the Vista Chinesa alone in the lead
- She skidded off the road along a turn, flipped over and landed in a ditch with just six miles left to the finish line
- She was rushed to hospital and the Dutch Cycling Federation confirmed she was 'conscious and ok'
- American cyclist Mara Abbott sailed past Vleuten's motionless body, but lost steam in the final sprint to come in fourth
- Dutch teammate Anna van der Breggen won gold, Swede Emma Johansson took silver, while Elisa Borghini of Italy won the bronze medal
- Women's road race is 141 kilometers, or 87.6miles
She had fought herself into the lead and no one stood between Dutch rider Annemiek van Vleuten and the finishing line of the Women's Road Race.
With less than six miles from victory, her gold medal dreams came to a crashing end when she suffered a dramatic accident and hurtled down the final hill stage of the 87-mile race.
With her wheels locking on the wet road surface, she crashed into the stone curb and went over her handle bars into the dense foliage.
Spectators watching at Copacabana beach issued a huge gasp as she lay motionless on the ground. Seconds later, her rival Mara Abbott of Team USA sailed past into the lead.
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Annemiek van Vleuten (pictured) flew over the handlebars and lay motionless in a ditch in scenes that left TV viewers horrified
Her gold medal dreams came to a crashing end as she suffered a dramatic accident and hurtled down the final hill stage with just six miles to go
Spectators watching at Copacabana beach issued a huge gasp as she lay motionless on the ground
Van Vleuten (pictured) was rushed to the hospital and The Dutch Cycling Federation confirmed she was 'conscious and ok' but gave no further details
Van Vleuten was rushed to the hospital where she was diagnosed with a severe concussion and small fractures on her lower spine.
The Dutch Cycling Federation confirmed she was 'conscious', talking and that she looks 'bright', but must remain in intensive care for at least 24 hours.
An spokesperson for the International Cycling Union (UCI) said: 'Ms. Van Vleuten is conscious and able to communicate. Further medical checks currently being made at the hospital.'
The race was eventually won by her Dutch teammate Anna van der Breggen, who beat out Abbott in the homestretch.
Van der Breggen and Abbott were neck and neck with about nine miles left to go, but van Vleuten broke away and took the lead.
She sped down the Vista Chinesa descent along a turn, skidding off the road before she flipped over into a ditch.
Abbott sped past van Vleuten's motionless body, where a medic could be seen standing over her, but the American lost steam in the final sprint and came in a disappointing fourth.
'You think about winning an Olympic medal and you think that's something that could never, ever happen to you,' Abbott later told NBC.
'And I didn't believe it until I passed 200 meters to go - then I thought, oh my god, oh my god this is going to happen.
'And then they passed me. So, I guess that's what they say about counting your chickens before they hatch, unfortunately, but you're just riding as hard as you can.'
Swedish cyclist Emma Johansson took silver, while Elisa Borghini of Italy won the bronze medal.
Dutch teammate Anna van der Breggen (center) went on to win the race, with Swedish cyclist Emma Johansson taking silver and Elisa Borghini of Italy securing the bronze
Van Der Breggen told of her shock when she saw van Vleuten lying on the road, with silver medalist Johansson saying: 'We jsut hope she's OK'
Cyclist Chris Boardman, serving as a commentator for BBC, later said he was 'past commenting' because he was angry about how dangerous the course was.
He said: 'I went down and had a look at the course and saw those edges. We knew it was way past being technical. It was dangerous.
'We knew the descent was treacherous. I looked at that road furniture and thought, nobody can crash here and just get up. It is really bad and that is what we have seen today,' he added.
Van Der Breggen told of her shock when she saw van Vleuten lying on the road, with silver medalist Johansson saying: 'It was a horrendous crash.'
She added: 'The peloton is so small and we all know each other very well. We just hope she's OK.
'I was really shocked when I saw the crash and it didn't look good but I had to focus and keep on with the race.'
The Vista Chinesa descent proved treacherous throughout two days of road racing, with two leading men crashing out on Saturday (pictured, the women's final on Sunday)
American Mara Abbott (left) sped past van Vleuten's motionless body after the crash, but she lost steam in the final sprint and came in a disappointing fourth.
Meanwhile British medal hopeful Lizzie Armistead said just being able to compete – following her missed dope-testing scandal – had been a victory. She came in fifth
The Vista Chinesa descent proved treacherous throughout two days of road racing.
In the men's road race, Vincenzo Nibali from Italy and Sergio Luis Henao Montoya from Colombia also crashed while leading the race on Saturday.
Meanwhile British medal hopeful Lizzie Armistead said just being able to compete – following her missed dope-testing scandal – had been a victory.
She said: 'Yes, of course. I feel good. It was a victory to be here for me. It's been a very difficult couple of weeks, but I'm happy I was here to represent my country, definitely.'
Although she did not win a medal the 27-year-old said she had tried her best.
She said: 'I stuck to my tactic. I needed to limit my losses on the climb and that's exactly what I did.
Cyclist Chris Boardman, serving as a commentator for BBC, later said he was 'past commenting' because he was angry about how dangerous the course was (pictured, the road cycle medalists)
'I couldn't have climbed any faster. I'm happy with the tactic I had, I just simply wasn't good enough at climbing, so I can be proud of the effort I did.'
Discussing the descent where Van Vleuten crashed she said: 'It was particularly difficult, but I went into this thinking I'm not going to take extraordinary risks. I wanted to get down safely at a speed I was comfortable with.'
She added: 'I would've put some money on Anna Van Der Breggen to win this race. She's a phenomenal athlete and this course was designed for her. I'm really, really impressed. Congratulations.'
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