Van Vleuten is in hospital in intensive care having sustained three cracks in her spine and a concussion. She was leading the race before crashing descending after the final climb of the race as light rain began to fall.
The South African, who finished 10th, says she was shocked as she rode past her.
"That was really quite a shock. When I went past her she looked dead, so I’m just really grateful to hear that she’s conscious because it looked like it was solidly broken. I really hope that she’s okay, she was my teammate last year and it was quite shocking to see that."
Van Vleuten was leading the race with around 15km to go when she skidded near the bottom of a steep descent and smashed head-first into the road and a stone kerb.
She laid motionless while help arrived but the Dutch Cycling Federation (KNWU) later tweeted that she was “conscious and ok”.
