- Loana Lecomte was fighting for the podium at home but crashed into some rocks
- Her head hit the ground and she was knocked unconscious before being taken out on a stretcher.
- Lecomte was seen wearing bandages but her condition was said to be “not serious.”
French cyclist Loana Lecomte suffered a terrible accident during the women’s cross-country mountain bike race on Sunday.
The 24-year-old flew over the handlebars as she descended a technical and rocky section of the Elancourt Hill course.
Lecomte appeared to have momentarily lost consciousness after hitting her head on the ground or a rock. Her bike also collided with her.
Paramedics and medics rushed to her aid as television cameras stopped recording the horrific accident. No replays of the incident were shown out of concern for Lecomte’s welfare.
Fortunately, Lecomte’s injuries do not appear to be as serious as initially suspected.
Lecomte crashed heavily and appeared to hit her head on a rock garden while in the second group on the course chasing compatriot and eventual winner Pauline Ferrand-Prevot.
Lecomte was visibly shaken and appeared to briefly fall unconscious before being carried away on a stretcher.
Lecomte’s coach told French television that he had “facial trauma” but that ultimately his condition “would not be serious” before defiantly declaring that “he will recover and come back stronger.”
She was pictured smiling after the race with bandages on her arm and face alongside her French mountain bike coach.
His coach told French television that the accident “will not be serious in the end.”
He added: “He will recover and come back stronger.”
Following the accident, French journalist Nicolas Georgereau posted a positive update on Lecomte’s condition on social media.
He wrote: “Loana Lecomte is still at the scene. She lost consciousness for a moment, but is fine and has been treated by the medical service. There are no problems at this time.”
Lecomte appears to have been lucky to escape what initially looked like an incredibly serious incident. According to L’Equipe, she has emerged unscathed with head trauma and a “relatively minor injury to her jaw.”
Lecomte, who was carried off the circuit on a stretcher as spectators chanted her name and offered their support, was firmly regarded as one of the pre-race favourites for a place on the podium.
She was part of an initial lead group of four alongside compatriot and reigning world champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, who broke away from the 36-rider peloton on the first 4.4km lap.
However, neither Lecomte nor anyone else could keep up with Ferrand-Prevot’s high pace on the second lap.
Lecomte was thought to be in with a medal before the race, but the accident dashed those hopes.
Lecomte’s compatriot and reigning world champion Pauline Ferrand-Prevot put on a show for the home crowd at Elancourt Hill by winning her first Olympic gold medal.
Behind the leader Ferrand-Prevot emerged a chasing group consisting of Lecomte Jenny Rissveds (Sweden), Laura Stigger (Austria) and Haley Batten (USA).
But Lecomte’s hopes of a silver or bronze medal ended on the fourth lap when she was thrown from her bike in a technical section of a rock garden. She lay on the ground after hitting her head before being attended to by medical staff and taken away on a stretcher.
Ferrand-Prevot won the race in dominant fashion and claimed her first gold medal. Batten took silver and Rissveds bronze.
The men’s cross-country mountain bike race takes place on Monday and Team GB’s Tom Pidcock is the heavy favourite.