‘I don’t regret it’ – Tending to teammate after Vuelta a Burgos Féminas crash costs Lucinda Brand three minutes

The run into the sprint was ramping up to full speed on Thursday’s stage 1 of the Vuelta a Burgos Féminas when, with just 150m to go, Sofia Bertizzolo  (UAE Team ADQ) and Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) came down hard into the barriers. When that happened Lucinda Brand’s (Lidl-Trek) first instinct was an understandable one –  to stop and see what she could do to help her clearly hurt teammate.

Balsamo was on the ground after she was knocked straight into the barrier at high speed and, while officials and medical staff were still rushing toward the injured riders, Brand was already by her Italian teammate’s side. It was later revealed that Balsamo suffered a concussion, a fracture to her nasal bone and second metacarpal.