Annemiek van Vleuten hopeful of flying home on Friday

Aug 9, 2016

Dutch rider Annemiek van Vleuten has provided an update on her recovery from injuries sustained in the Olympic Women’s Road Race on Sunday.

Van Vleuten crashed heavily on the descent of Vista Chinesa when she was in a winning position in the closing stages of the race. Her condition immediately after the accident looked very serious with a lot of concern over the extent of her injuries.

She suffered a concussion and was kept in intensive care as medics monitored her condition.

Van Vleuten has provided an update on her injuries but outlines that although her physical injuries “are not that bad”, she finds it difficulty mentally to accept that she lost out on the chance to win the gold medal.

Her statement was as follows:

“An update from the hospital in Rio de Janeiro, where I am in good hands. A message with very mixed feelings. Normally I am able to look forward after a disappointment, but now I know there probably won’t be a chance like this anymore. When you are I such good shape and can excel like this, it is very difficult to accept this. I was so close, but gave it away and it was my fault.”

“On the other hand; I am very proud that I was able to perform like this. I was hoping to surprise everyone, but that I was actually able to attack Abbott, I did not expect. On the Olympics I wanted to excel and that I did. Maybe I discovered a side of myself, which I didn’t even knew. That is a motivation for me to continue. I am very proud of this, but it’s hard to accept it ended like this. Of course the ‘what if’-questions plays in my head. I have to do something with that in the processing of this.”

“I am very happy that the physical injuries are not that bad. But mentally it’s difficult. Especially when I woke up this morning. The first two hours I kept looking back at the race and that’s really hard. For such a long time you work towards a goal and then this is how it ends. It will really take some time to leave that behind. All the sweet messages I’ve got do help me. If I read them, I can look back on a great performance.”

“The reactions of everyone around me are heart-warming and I’ve had a lot of visits. My Orica-AIS teamies Katrin Garfoot, Gracie Elvin and Amanda Spratt visited me together with team manager Martin Barras and I had a visit of Marianne Vos and Dutch head coach Johan Lammers. But also our team soigneur, the technical director of the KNWU Thorwald Veneberg, chef de mission Maurits Hendriks, NOC*NSF chairman André Bolhuis and UCI president Brian Cookson came by. Cees Rein van den Hoogenband provides medical assistance and there is also a Dutch doctor who lives over here, Frits, who helps me with some translation. Not everyone speaks English.”

“Today I can leave the hospital and I will be taken to a hotel nearby. Not to the Olympic village, because I need rest and the idea is that I can recover the best in the hotel. The intention is to fly home Friday and hopefully I can. The aim is to fly home Friday and hopefully can. That concussion is the reason that they want to keep me here.”

“As I said, I had a lot of messages. On the website and social media, but for example also a letter in which almost all the riders in the peloton had left a get well wish. Marianne gave me that. I am very happy with all those messages. But I am not allowed to use my phone a lot and therefore I can’t answer most of them. That’s why I post this message on my website for all everyone. I want to thank you all for the super sweet and warm messages!”