Lucinda Brand has sustained a fracture in a metacarpal bone on her right hand following a crash while warming up for the next round of the Cyclo-cross World Cup in Tabor, Czech Republic.
Brand is scheduled to undergo surgery to correct the fracture in a hospital in Herentals, Belgium on Monday.
"Sad news. European champion Lucinda Brand crashed during the recon of the Tabor World Cup parcours earlier today. She has a fracture of the right metacarpal and will be out for an unknown time," Baloise Trek Lions confirmed.
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"Lucinda will undergo surgery at Dr. Toon Claes in AZ Herentals on Monday."
The Baloise Trek Lions rider will be sidelined from the opening events of the European cyclo-cross season while she recovers from her injuries.
The Cyclo-cross World Cup season opened in the United States, with the first two rounds held in Waterloo on October 9, where Brand finished third, and Fayetteville on October 16, where she finished second.
Fem van Emple (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) won both rounds and is leading the series.
Back on European soil, Brand was warming up in her reconnaissance for the third round of the World Cup series on Saturday, ahead of the race on Sunday, when she crashed while testing new lines to ride on the circuit.
According to a report in Sporza, Brand hit her hand on a post when she fell.
Following the World Cup in Tabor, Brand was scheduled to also race the fourth World Cup in Maasmechelen on October 30 and then defend her title at the European Cyclo-cross Championships on November 5 in Namur. It is unclear when she will be able to resume training and race.
