The Hague (AFP) - Following four months in a coma after suffering brain damage in a crash, Dutch cyclist Amy Pieters has "consciousness now" her team SD Worx said on Thursday.
"The condition of Amy Pieters has changed.There is consciousness.This means that she can communicate slightly non-verbally. Amy recognizes people, understands what is being said," said the statement.
"Doctors cannot yet say what residual symptoms and remaining abilities Amy Pieters will have as a result of the brain injury," it added.
Pieters fell at the end of December during a training camp in Calpe suffering severe brain damage.After emergency surgery in Alicante, she was taken back to a hospital in the Netherlands for rehabilitation.
"Since mid February Amy Pieters has been following a specialized intensive neurorehabilitation programme," said the SD Worx statement
Pieters was a world champion both on the road, as part of the six-rider Dutch team winning the mixed relay in 2019, and on the track, where she took the madison three times in partnership with Kirsten Wild
