Crash disrupts women’s road race at World Championships

A crash involving at least 15 riders disrupted the women’s elite road race at the UCI Road World Championships in Montréal on Saturday, with Lauretta Hanson and Caroline Andersson taken to hospital and several other riders abandoning. The pileup occurred with about 95 kilometres remaining on Rue Saint-Urbain, according to race reports. The cause has not been established in the available accounts. Hanson later said she was banged up and had a few broken ribs, but that her injuries were not worse. She had been taken from the course in an ambulance wearing a neck brace. The Australian rider’s update came after concern about the severity of her condition. Andersson, of Sweden, was also taken to hospital. Swedish team management official Alexander Wetterhall said she had an open collarbone fracture that required surgery, as well as a small bleed in her hip that doctors were monitoring. He said she was conscious, able to talk and communicate, and receiving care. The reports did not provide an outcome for the planned surgery or further details about her recovery. Defending champion Magdeleine Vallières and Spain’s Paula Blasi were among those whose races ended after the crash.