Holland's Annemiek van Vleuten today posted a picture of her injuries as she spoke of her struggle to overcome the disappointment of missing out on Olympic gold.
The 33-year-old fractured three vertebrae and suffered concussion after a horrifying high‑speed crash in the women’s road race on Sunday.
Van Vleuten slammed into the road and a stone kerb after losing control of her bike when leading on the final descent with around 15km remaining.
She was taken to intensive care amid fears she may have suffered more severe injuries but later tweeted to assure fans she was 'fine'.
“Thanks for all the messages. Hard to deal with my disappointment but also proud about our performance #teamNL” Van Vleuten posted on Twitter on Tuesday.
The gold was won by Anna van der Breggen with Britain’s Lizzie Armitstead in fifth.
The row over Armitstead’s missed doping tests dominated the build-up but she said: “It’s been a hard time but it’s not an excuse.”
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