As Giorgia Bronzini (Wiggle-Honda) was raising he arms in celebration of Molecaten Drentse 8 van Westerveld victory, Loren Rowney (Velocio-SRAM) was on the ground wondering what caused her to crash just metres from the line. The 26-year-old was sprinting on the left-hand side of the road, close to the barriers, when a spectator shot his arm out and caught her bars causing her to fall.
Rowney rolled over the line through the momentum of the crash, briefly sitting up then clutching her right collarbone before being helped off the road as the peloton was coming into sight. A broken collarbone was confirmed for Rowney, ruling her out of the first women's World Cup of the year, Boels Rental Ronde van Drenthe, which takes place Saturday.
"Thank you 4 the well wishes everybody. I'll try and get back to you all...it's hard with 1 arm! on my way to Hamburg for treatment," Rowney tweeted after the race.
The race organiser, Femmy van Issum, stated that an investigation into the cause of the crash has been opened but was not suggesting it was a deliberate act by the spectator.
"I do not think there was intentionally. Nobody does such a thing on purpose, but I would like to get in touch with the person who has put his hand out. That way we can work out the insurance for Rowney. She is still a while off and female cyclists are simply not as well paid as men," says Van Issum.
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