Fem van Empel narrowly avoided disaster in the breakaway at the Trofeo Alfredo Binda on Sunday, just about missing out on colliding with a spectator who was crossing the road while the race was ongoing.
The Dutch Visma-Lease a Bike racer took to social media to describe her experience of the Women's WorldTour race, which saw her make the day's early breakaway move with 13 other riders.
In a post on Instagram, Van Empel said that she was able to avoid the man, who had decided to cross the road in front of the race on a downhill section of the route.
However, she said that others in move – including Thalita de Jong (Human Powered Health) – weren't so lucky. De Jong was among several riders unable to avoid a collision and came away with a broken collarbone as a result.
"There was a man crossing the road on the descent ahead of me," Van Empel wrote in an Instagram story after the race. "Could just avoid it, but there were a couple of girls that crashed really badly.
"Stopped and tried to help as best I could. This is part of cycling, but the way this happened I cannot understand. Speedy recovery girls."
De Jong replied to Van Empel's post, writing "Thank you so much Fem for your care of me."
Both riders would end up on the DNF list for the race, the sixth round of the 2025 Women's WorldTour.
De Jong appears to have come off the worst in the incident. The 31-year-old, who won the Trofeo Binissalem-Andratx in January, underwent surgery on her broken collarbone after the race and she's set to be ruled out of racing for several weeks as a result.
In the end, it was Elisa Balsmao (Lidl-Trek) who came out on top at the race, the Italian triumphing for the third time in her career. Balsamo beat Blanka Vas (SD Worx-Protime) and Cat Ferguson (Movistar) to the line after a thrilling final which saw a strong group of late attackers caught during the final kilometres of the 152km race.
