The Trek-Segafredo rider was on the prologue course and riding reconnaissance when the fall took place. He was taken to a local hospital in Fribourg where x-rays confirmed a lateral collarbone-fracture to the left side.
Trek-Segafredo later announced that the 28-year-old would have surgery on Wednesday and spend between seven to 10 days off the bike. The injury rules Brändle out of the Giro d’Italia, where he would have been one of the possible contenders to win the opening time trial in Israel.
"I am very disappointed. Mostly because I cannot help the team here and in the Giro. The crash was a really stupid one,” Brandle said in series of Tweets.
"I was focused on the first corner and didn't recognize a bump which brought me down from my handlebar. It was only 10km/h so I had no time to make a roll or something. I was really looking forward to racing the next weeks after a long training period where I put in everything. I believe I had it in my reach with this tricky parcours to go for the win with the training I did in the last weeks."
At the finish in Fribourg, team directeur sportif Yaroslav Popovych added more details regarding the crash.
“He’s in hospital," Popovych told Cyclingnews. "He was here and doing the recon and then, from what I know, he hit a television cable in the road. He lost the grip on his handlebars and that was it. He went down on his left side. He was for the Giro but…”
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Trek-Segafredo won the opening stage in Romandie last year but came into this year’s race without a dedicated GC contender. Although they have already lost a rider to injury, their overall plan will remain the same as they go after stage wins.
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