Lotta Henttala’s race in Belgium ended with a violent crash and a trip to the hospital.
Finnish cyclist Lotta Henttala34, posted a wild photo of her face on Instagram Monday night.
– Last weekend did not go as I planned, Henttala wrote in his publication.
Road cyclist Henttala represents the US EF Education–Cannondale team. He competed last Saturday in Belgium in the Elmos Dwars door het Hageland race. Henttala’s race ended with a violent crash.
– I landed on my face and got a concussion.
Henttala says that luckily he managed to survive with a 15-minute gap in his memory. Next weekend’s championships will be missed, but otherwise Henttala believes that he will return to real action in the near future.
– Be careful and wear a helmet!
The one-day race in Belgium was won by a Dutchman Lucinda Brand. Anniina Ahtosalo was 31st (+1.50).
At the end of May, the Finnish Olympic Committee confirmed Ahtosalo’s place at this summer’s Paris Olympics. The 20-year-old Ahtosalo’s season has been brilliant.
Henttala was elected deputy representative. The race for Finland’s only country seat was tight between the two.
Lotta Henttala is one of Finland’s most successful road cyclists. For example, in 2016 he won bronze in the team time trial and individual bronze in the road race at the World Championships in Doha. They were the first World Cup medals won by a Finn in history.
In 2020, Henttala took a competitive break due to exhaustion. He missed the Tokyo Olympics, which were moved to 2021, also because he and his wife had their first child.
Henttala successfully returned from a three-year competition break at the beginning of 2023. The return happened “a bit by accident”.
– A year ago, I once went for a run and thought if I should still try to drive. It was such a nice run, Henttala said at the time.