Overall contender Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime) was among several riders who crashed in a hectic, rain-dampened finale of stage 5 of the Vuelta Femenina.
A handful of riders crashed around 26 kilometres from the finish on a slippery corner, and then there was a larger crash due to a touch of wheels in the middle of the peloton with 1.4km to go.
Whilst some riders were slow to get back riding, including Arlenis Sierra (Movistar) and the Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto pair of Neve Bradbury and Wilma Aintila, Van der Breggen rode away quickly, having nearly avoided crashing at all.
She finished 1:36 down on the winner, her teammate Mischa Bredewold, but was later credited with the time of the peloton as the crash occurred within the final five kilometres.
That means her GC position is not under threat, and she and her team seemed positive that she had not been hurt in the incident.
“I’m OK, I almost could avoid it in the end, but just not,” Van der Breggen said to Eurosport at the finish. “But I’m OK. We could see the clouds already hanging there for quite a while so we expected that it could be [wet], but it was just a pity that it was in the final 2k, 3k. It was really slippery, it was unlucky.”
The Dutch rider will be hoping that no aches or pains develop overnight, with two very big mountain stages waiting on Friday and Saturday, where she will be hopeful of securing a spot on the final podium.
It was less good news for Letizia Paternoster (Liv AlUla Jayco), who went down in the first crash and had to chase back with teammate Josie Talbot. The pair got back to contest the sprint, and Paternoster even managed to finish third on the stage, but was clearly in difficulty.
She spoke briefly to the TV cameras at the finish, showing her bloodied hands and describing pain in her wrist, and becoming visibly upset.
Other riders who suffered in the day’s crashes include Tiffany Cromwell and Maria Martins (both Canyon-SRAM zondacrpyto) and Marthe Goossens (AG Insurance-Soudal), who all lost upwards of six minutes, though no serious injuries have been confirmed yet.
It could be a challenging end to the race for any riders carrying any injuries, as stage 6 sees the peloton take on a 3.9km finishing climb with a punishing 12.6% average gradient, and stage 7 culminates atop the fearsome Alto de l’Angliru.
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