Cyclist injured in a massive crash seconds after winning a race

Olympic medalist Lizzie Armitstead of Britain won stage one of the highly ranked Aviva Women's Tour on Wednesday afternoon in the UK — then crashed hard at speed a moment after the crossing the finish line, VeloNews reported.

She and a handful of other riders went down hard, and Armitstead looked to be the worst off.

It appears that Armitstead, who rides for the Boels-Dolmans team, crashed into the finish-line photographers.

In the GIF above, it appears that Armitstead won the field sprint, raised her arms in a victory salute, lost her line, and then grabbed her handlebars in an effort to regain control of her bike.

The Telegraph said that the photographers were in their correct positions after the finish line, per the governing body UCI's rules.

The paper also said: "Armitstead, 26, initially appeared to move her arms and hands before being administered with oxygen and placed in a neck brace. Her shoes were removed, as was one of her socks."

You can watch the crash in the video below as well as here on ITV.com:

The first stage took riders from Bury St. Edmunds to Aldeburgh.

Armitstead's teammates accepted her jersey for her:

The five-stage race finishes June 21 in Hemel Hempstead.

British Cycling released this statement:

Last week Armitstead was racing in the US, where she won the Philadelphia Cycling Classic.

Update (2:06 p.m. ET): The BBC reported that Armitstead was discharged from the hospital:

"Armitstead is said to be bruised and battered and a decision on whether she will race in the rest of the tour will be taken on Thursday," the BBC said.

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