A cyclist was hospitalized after she was sent flying over a guardrail and crashed hard into the pavement below in a horrific scene.
Debora Silvestri of Italy couldn’t avoid a pileup near the guardrail during the women’s Milan-San Remo one-day classic on Saturday, and her fall was so worrisome it had a French broadcaster on Eurosport screaming in shock.
The 27-year-old was conscious when she was transported to a hospital, her team, Laboral Kutxa, said, and she revealed in an update on her Instagram account that she suffered five broken ribs along with a micro fracture in her shoulder.
“Thanks for the many many messages I received,” Silvestri wrote. “Sure not the final I had imagined… I feel quite good, 5 ribs broken and micro fracture on shoulder… could be worse. Time to recover but no worries, I will come back.”
The crash occurred on the descent down the Cipressa climb, according to the Associated Press. There were less than 12 miles remaining on the 97-mile route, per the AP.
Lotte Kopecky of Belgium won the race.
Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney of Poland, one of the favorites in the race, was involved in the pileup and was unable to continue. Kim Le Court-Pienaar of Mauritius, another favorite, finished in 99th place after getting caught up in the crash.
