Annemieke van Vleuten (Mitchelton-Scott) has abandoned the 2020 Giro Rosa after breaking her wrist in a crash on stage 7 in Maddaloni. Van Vleuten was leading the overall standings for her third consecutive women's Grand Tour title when she crashed in the final kilometer with teammates Amanda Spratt and Marianne Vos (CCC-Liv), who suffered a right shoulder and concussion.

Maglia Rosa was handed to Katarzyna Nieviadoma (Canyon-SRAM), who finished this stage in third place. Anna van der Breggen (Boels-Dolmans) moved into second place, 15 seconds behind the Polish rider.

Van Vleuten had been selected to represent the Netherlands in the 2020 UCI Road World Championships and was looking to defend her title following her solo victory in Yorkshire last year. However, a broken wrist ruled him out of the world championships, which will be held in Imola, Italy, from September 24-27.

"I am very sad that I will not be able to defend Maglia Rosa. I am disappointed not to be able to defend the world champion's jersey," van Breuten said. 'I will now go home and have wrist surgery on Saturday.'

The reigning world champion will return to the Netherlands on Friday to undergo surgery at Rijnstate Hospital in Arnhem.

After the crash, Van Vleuten and Spratt were taken to a nearby hospital where doctors confirmed that Van Vleuten has a broken left wrist and Spratt has a right shoulder injury and concussion.

Mitchelton-Scott confirmed that Van Vleuten and Spratt, who entered the race as co-leaders, were forced to abandon with two stages remaining. The race will end on Saturday with stage 9, Motta Montecorvino.

"Anne-Mike has a broken left wrist. 'He had x-rays and a CT scan at the hospital and underwent treatment. He will return to Holland for a specialist's opinion and probably have surgery on Saturday."

"Amanda's right shoulder is stiff and painful and she has a concussion.

"I would also like to thank the race doctors and paramedics."

CCC-Liv confirmed that Voss suffered abrasions but no broken bones.

Van Vleuten, Spratt, and Vos were part of a small group sprinting to the finish line in Maddaloni, but all three crashed on the straightaway in the last kilometer of the stage.

Vos later confirmed that she was the first to fall due to wheel contact ahead, followed by Spratt, and then Van Fluten. VanFleuten made contact with the curb side of the road, then went over the handlebars and landed on her left arm and front side.

Mavi Garcia and Tatiana Gudelzo (Yale-BTC Ljubljana), Erica Magnardi (Serratigit-WNT), and Omer Shapira (Canyon-SRAM) were also involved in the crash.

"I was able to keep a safe position until the finish. I stayed out of trouble and was in control. In the last 500m the girls crashed right in front of me and I couldn't avoid it. My wrist wasn't straight and I knew right away it wasn't good."

Van Vleuten got up and got back on the bike, gripped the handlebars with only one hand, and continued to ride, sustaining abrasions on her left wrist, elbow, and chin. hospital for medical checkups.

Van Grooten is looking for his third consecutive overall win at the Giro Rosa and has taken the overall lead with two stages to go. His victory on stage 2 moved him into the overall lead.

At the start of stage 7, he was 1:48 ahead of Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) and 2:03 ahead of Anna van der Breggen (Boels-Dolmans) for the overall lead.

Niewiadoma will start the 91.5 km race from Castelnuovo della Downia to San Marco la Catra on stage 8 in Maria Rosa, with Van der Breggen in second place overall and Cecilie Uttrup-Ludwig (FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope) moved up to third place.

Van Vleuten has won seven races since taking the rainbow jersey last September, including Omloop Het Niusblad, three races in Spain in July, Strade Bianche, and the European Championships.

She was selected for the Dutch team, which included Vos, Demi Vollering, Vollering, Anna van der Breggen, Chantal van den Broeck-Blaak, Amy Peters, Ellen van Dijk, and Florche McKay, for the World Championships in one week. They were expected to compete.

Spratt, who won a silver medal in the 2018 World Championships road race and a bronze medal last year, will be joined by Lucy Kennedy, Grace Brown, and Sarah Roy, as well as FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope's Brody Chapman and Shara Marche (nee Guiraud ), along with the experienced Rachel Neylan (Cronos Casa Dorada), were selected to represent Australia at the Imola World Championships.

"What I feel most right now is disappointment, not only in myself, but also in Vruti and the whole team. Our Giro was going perfectly and then it all fell apart in an instant," Spratt said.

"I feel lucky that I haven't broken any bones, but my shoulder is still very sore and I have a concussion, so I have to take it easy now. I want to recover as quickly as possible and get back to racing as soon as possible. Thanks to my team for the great support."