Stage 1 of the RideLondon Classique saw several crashes that forced riders to abandon. With two riders not starting the stage, the peloton for stage 2 is reduced by 10 riders already.
The highest-profile rider to abandon the race was Elisa Balsamo (Trek-Segafredo). She crashed twice in the first half of the stage and eventually climbed off her bike. The team later stated she had suffered fractures in the left scaphoid bone as well as fractures of both the left and right mandible which will require surgery.
Mari Hole Mohr of Team Coop-Hitec Products went down even before Balsamo’s crash and also had to abandon the race. The team confirmed to Cyclingnews that Mohr was OK, but the Norwegian squad is down to only four riders as Josie Nelson did not start stage 1, still showing concussion symptoms after a crash at the Vuelta Femenina.
Another non-starter in Saffron Walden was Becky Storrie (Team DSM) who had been suffering from illness in the days up to the race. But even without her support, her teammate Kool went on to win the stage.
The biggest crash of the day happened with about 61 kilometres to go when several riders did not notice a traffic island in time. Sammie Stuart (DAS-Handsling) went down hard, losing a lot of skin, but she did finish and hopes to start again tomorrow. Chloé Dygert (Canyon-SRAM) also went down in this crash but was up again quickly and well enough to play a prominent role in the final. Her team confirmed that she felt a bit sore but had no injuries.
Other riders were less fortunate. Alison Avoine (St Michel-Mavic-Auber93) could not get back on her bike, abandoned the race, and was taken to a hospital for further assessment. Kate Richardson (Lifeplus-Wahoo) also stopped as she had a dislocated her shoulder.
Arianna Fidanza (Ceratizit-WNT) was taken down when other riders crashed into her, getting bruises and road rash from the impact. Having suffered several crashes recently, she was shaken up by the experience and did not continue the race.
Josie Talbot (Cofidis) and Fien Delbaere (Israel-Premier Tech Roland) also abandoned the race after this crash while Gladys Verhulst (FDJ-SUEZ) did not finish after a mechanical.
Despite her injuries, Sammie made it through to the finish today.It’s not going to be a comfortable night for Sammie but 🤞she’ll take to the bike again tomorrow@RideLondon pic.twitter.com/nA7VUNmP6KMay 26, 2023
