Debora Silvestri was the rider most impacted by Saturday’s brutal crash on the Cipressa during Milan-San Remo. After six days in hospital dealing with injuries, the Italian racer is finally being released to continue her recovery at home.
“After several days marked by caution and constant medical monitoring, Debora Silvestri has progressed favourably and can now continue her recovery outside the hospital,” the Laboral Kutxa-Fundacion Euskadi team shared in an update.
Silvestri’s team, initially reported a reasonable list of injuries compared to the severity of how her crash looked. Significant chest trauma meant that the Italian needed to remain in hospital for nearly a week in order to receive respiratory support. The rider shared on her on social’s that she was still in significant pain, though less than the first couple of days after the crash.
The team added that Silvestri will continue recovering at home after being discharged and continues to progress in her recovery.
Silvestri was one of several riders caught up in Saturday’s crash. Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney slid into a metal barrier while leading the race. With the Polish national champion going down in a blind corner, numerous riders could not avoid her. Silvestri was one of two riders to hit Niewiadoma-Phinney and then go over the barrier, falling several metres onto a paved path below.
Lotte Kopecky avoided the crash and would go on to win Milan-San Remo in a thrilling sprint out of a reduced group.
Crashes also impacted the men’s Milan-San Remo. Tadej Pogacar went down not long before the Cipressa, taking down several pre-race favourites with him. While the Slovenian recovered to win, and Wout van Aert recovered to podium, Mathieu van der Poel said a bike that hit his finger left him unable to hold onto his bike well enough on the subsequent climbs.