American cyclist Chloe Dygert opens up on horror crash at Road World Championship

American cyclist Chloe Dygert received hundreds of well-wishes from the cycling world and beyond following her horror crash during the time trial at the Road World Championship on Thursday. The 23-year-old was setting the pace again after winning last year's title and looked on course for gold on the 31.7km circuit at Imola, Italy, but lost control at a corner. Reports claimed that Chloe Dygert underwent successful surgery to treat a deep cut on her left leg and is now recovering well in a hospital in Bologna. Just a day after her dreadful crash, Chloe Dygert took to Twitter to reveal what she felt after her accident. 

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Chloe Dygert accident: American cyclist describes what she felt after her horrifying crash

In a Twitter post on Thursday night, Chloe Dygert posted a graphic picture of her bloodied leg after her crash. The five-time UCI Track Cycling World Championship Gold medalist wrote, "The first thing I thought of when I crashed was, 'If I can get to my bike, maybe I can still finish the race and win'. I then thought about what legendary coach Jim Miller would be thinking. Then I looked down at my leg". Dygert went on to thank all her fans for their wishes she received and also added that she'll be back to cycling soon enough. Her post received almost 9,000 likes in just nine hours.

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Chloe Dygert crash: Chloe Dygert leg surgery

Video footage of Chloe Dygert's crash showed the cyclist hitting a barrier and tumbling over the top of it during a turn. Following the crash, Dygert landed at the side of a bank and medics immediately rushed to her aid. Images then showed the graphic wound on the 23-year-old's bloodied left leg. Dygert was then taken into an ambulance as she was forced to abandon the race. 

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Chloe Dygert's father, David, spoke to IndySport and revealed that the defending UCI champion suffered a laceration to her quadricep and that a ligament was "severely damaged". He also confirmed that Chloe underwent surgery to repair the cut. However, Dygert's coach, Kristin Armstrong went on to admit that Chloe's injuries were "not as bad as they first feared" adding that star cyclist will "return stronger than ever".

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Image Credits - UCI Twitter