Belgium's Justine Ghekiere has pulled out of the women's road race at the Rwanda Road World Championships after failing to recover from a 60kph crash at the recent Grand Prix Stuttgart & Region race.
Ghekiere is the current Belgian national champion and a talented climber. In the absence of 2024 world champion Lotte Kopecky, Ghekiere was expected to lead the Belgian team in Saturday's 164.6km race around the Kigali hills. In her absence, the team will now line up with just four riders.
"In consultation with the medical staff, Justine has decided not to travel to Rwanda," Belgian national coach Ludwig Willems told Sporza.
"She suffered abrasions all over her body. Her hand was badly injured and one of her ribs is bruised."
Ghekiere tried to recover in time to travel to Rwanda this week, but a final test on Sunday left her with a headache.
"At the weekend, Justine wanted to complete a solid training block, but that didn't work out," Willems said.
"During strenuous efforts, she feels like she's driving into a wall, resulting in a severe headache."
With no reserve riders, the Belgian team will include just four riders: Marthe Goossens, Marieke Meert, Julie Van de Velde and Margot Vanpachtenbeke.
"It's a real shame. After Lotte dropped out, Justine had the chance to do her thing without too much pressure," Willems said.
"It was a perfect course for her. The tough riders were going to be left in the final, and Justine is a tough one."
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