Mass crash shocks peloton during women's road race at World Championships, with defending champion Magdeleine Vallieres and Paula Blasi among affected riders

MONTREAL, QUEBEC - SEPTEMBER 26: (L-R) Alison Jackson of Canada, Maggie Coles-Lyster of Canada and Team Canada, Lieke Nooijen and Team Netherlands, Magdeleine Vallieres of Canada and Team Canada prior to the 99th UCI Road World Championships Montreal 2026 - Women Elite Road Race a 180.1km one day race from Brossard to Montreal on September 26, 2026 in Montreal, Quebec. (Photo by Dario Belingheri/Getty Images) — Vallieres alongside her Canadian teammates at the start this morning in Brossard (Image credit: Getty Images)

The elite women's race was affected by a large crash that saw upwards of 15 riders go down with 95km to go at the 180.1km event held at the UCI Road World Championships on Saturday, including defending champion Magdeleine Vallieres (Canada) and Vuelta a España champion Paula Blasi (Spain), who was forced to abandon the race.

"When the race entered the circuit, it was crazy," Blasi said. "People were taking too many risks. Now, there was downhill, and three girls crashed but were all behind, so it just went over. Typical scratches from the road, not too much pain."

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At the time of the crash, there was a breakaway of two riders that were part of an initial four-rider move in the peloton, including Natalie Quinn (Team USA) and Marte Berg Edseth (Norway), and they still had a three-minute gap.

The crash caused major splits in the peloton, with those involved in the incident scrambling to get back on their bikes and chasing to try and close the gaps, including Kim Le Court-Pienaar (Mauritius) and Sarah Gigante (Australia), while Vallieres was left chasing at more than seven minutes back by the time they were partway through the third lap with 80km to go.

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