Annemiek van Vleuten "looks positive" ahead of Road Race as her presence is confirmed

Annemiek van Vleuten is doing extraordinarily well taking into consideration that only two days ago she suffered a fracture in her crash, and the Dutch national team coach Loes Gunnewijk affirms that the team is optimistic that she will be able to put on a good ride.

Gunnewijk talked to NOS this morning, asked about the current state of Annemiek van Vleuten after she went on her first training ride with the elbow fracture. “That went pretty well,” he responded. The veteran crashed at the start of the Mixed Relay TTT and suffered a small elbow fracture, which hasn't however prevented her from racing the Road Race as she was confirmed to be in the Netherlands' lineup.

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“She was able to stand a few times. That is positive. We should all talk about it, but it looks positive. This situation has arisen and we have to make the best of it," he said. Although she features pain in her arm when standing on the bike, it appears to be somewhat manageable for the time being.  

The race tomorrow will be long however, and the climbs will be short and steep, which will not be a good signs for one of the Dutch team's leaders. Nevertheless she will have the spotlight when the race starts to explode, and the nation has several other cards to play for a strong result.

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