Annemiek van Grooten (Netherlands) has been cleared to compete in the elite women's road race at the UCI Road World Championships despite breaking her elbow on Wednesday.

The 2019 world champion fell heavily in an unforeseen crash at the start of the Dutch women's leg of the mixed relay team time trial on Wednesday.

She was diagnosed with a broken elbow, but was told the fracture was stable and was able to join her teammates on a training ride the next day.

On Friday, she underwent further medical examinations, after which the Dutch Federation confirmed that she would be on the start line in Wollongong on Saturday morning.

"Happy news from Wollongong: Annemiek van Fruten will compete in the World Championships road race on Saturday.

"Today's final test showed that he has recovered enough to participate.

With van Vleuten competing, the race will not be one of the big favourites. The 39-year-old has already won the Giro Donne, Tour de France Fam, and Vuelta Challenge this year, as well as the Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Omloop-Het Nieuwsblad.

However, van Breuten's fitness and chances of winning a second world road race title will still be a question mark.

After Thursday's experimental training session, she was surprised that she was able to run, but revealed that she was unable to get out of the saddle because of pain in her arms when she put pressure on the handlebars.

"I'm super bummed because of this," she said, sounding pessimistic about the prospects for the key Mount Pleasant climb on the Wollongong circuit.

"You can't sit on this steep climb," she added.

In any case, Van Vleuten was far from the only Dutch card in Saturday's race, with three-time world champion Marianne Vos and rising star Demi Vollaring, with newly crowned time trial world champion Ellen van Dijk Vos is a typical Dutch powerhouse team candidate for the rainbow jersey.