High speed pileup in Milan-San Remo Cipressa descent saw two riders go over the guardrail.
Debora Silvestri (Team Laboral Kutxa – Fundación Euskadi) in action during the Setmana Ciclista – Volta Femenina de la Comunitat Valenciana 2026. She crashed heavily in Milan-San Remo. (Photo: Szymon Gruchalski/Getty Images)
Published March 22, 2026 10:39AM
The Milan-San Remo Women crash on Saturday by Debora Silvestri looked horrific to those watching, with the Italian shooting over a guardrail and hitting the ground approximately two meters below.
Fortunately the Laboral Kutxa – Fundación Euskadi rider has updated her condition, and it’s not as bad as you might have feared.
Silvestri came down in the same high speed accident as Kasia Niewiadoma, with a number of riders in all hitting the deck on the descent of the Cipressa. Niewiadoma was the first to crash, carrying too much speed into a tight corner and having nowhere to go.
The tightness of the curve meant Silvestri didn’t see the fallers until it was too late and she was thrown over the barrier and onto a small road below. Visma-Lease a Bike rider Margaux Vigié had gone over the same barrier a few seconds earlier but was not badly injured.
Concerns were raised when Silvestri was left almost motionless on the ground, with small movement in one of her legs the only sign that she was conscious.
Her team released an update soon afterwards reassuring people that she was not in danger.
“After being attended to by the career medical services and emergency services, Debora Silvestri is currently stable,” it said on social media.
“She will remain hospitalized for the next few hours under medical supervision, and further tests will be conducted to assess the extent of the injuries.”
Laboral Kutxa – Fundación Euskadi provided encouraging news on Sunday morning.
“After remaining hospitalized under medical supervision overnight, Debora Silvestri continues to evolve favorably,” it stated. “She is in good spirits and with the strength to face her recovery, and she will remain in the hospital in the coming hours to continue being monitored.”
It said that the team’s medical staff believes that her condition will keep improving, and committed to providing further updates.
“Both the cyclist and the team want to sincerely thank all the messages of support and encouragement received in the last hours.”
Niewiadoma ‘I probably could have been more cautious’
Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM-Zondacryto) leads Kim Le Court Pienaar (Team AG Insurance – Soudal) in Milan-San Remo Women. (Photo: Ivan Bennedetto – Pool/Getty Images)
Silvestri is a 27 year old who has two pro wins to her credit, the Gran Premio Ciudad de Eibar and the Pionera Race. She put out a social media post herself on Saturday.
While she revealed that she has a number of fractures, those watching the race on television or online will be relieved that things were not worse.
“Thanks for the many many messages I received,” she wrote.
“Sure not the final I had imagined… I feel quite good, 5 ribs broken and micro fracture on shoulder… could be worse.
“Time to recover but no worries, I will come back. Thanks team @laboral_kutxa_team for the support.”
Niewiadoma is also recovering and doing better than anticipated.
“Kasia was assessed by our team doctor and sustained multiple cuts and bruises,” her Canyon-SRAM Zondacrypto team wrote on Saturday evening. “We will continue to monitor her recovery closely. We wish Kasia, along with everyone else involved in today’s crashes, a smooth and speedy recovery.”
The Polish rider, who was one of the strongest on the Cipressa and who was leading the reduced main group down the descent, acknowledged her speed in her own social media post on Saturday evening.
Other riders who were caught up in the San Remo crash were Tour de France stage winner Le Court (AG Insurance-Soudal), Sarah Van Dam and Margaux Vigié (both Visma-Lease a Bike), Stina Kagevi (EF Education-Oatley), Nina Buijsman and Carlotta Cipressi (both Human Powered Health), Alena Amialiusik (UAE Team ADQ) and Millie Couzens (Fenix-Premier Tech).
Le Court was the least affected, toppling over, but stayed at the scene of the crash to ensure Niewiadoma was safe. She finished over seven minutes back as a result.
Niewiadoma won the Tour de France Femmes two years ago. She was a non-finisher on Saturday but, given the lack of serious injuries, participation in the Ardennes Classics may still be possible.