Lucinda Brand (Baloise Trek Lions) was leading the World Cup in Sonnhofen on Sunday when she suffered a facial injury in a fall and had to abandon the race.

"In the women's race, Lucinda Brand was on the verge of winning, but unfortunately had to come out of the race after a fall. She will undergo the necessary checks with the medical staff to determine her next steps," Baloise Trek Lions wrote in an official post-race update.

Brand was leading the race when she skidded hard into the left turn on lap 3. Live video coverage of the race showed Brand slipping and slamming her face into the hard surface, with her nose taking much of the impact.

She got up, holding her bleeding nose, and walked the course until support arrived. The support team from Brand's Baloise Trek Lions wrapped her in a warm jacket and clothing as she continued to hold her nose.

The Baloise Trek Lions have not released a medical update, but Brand took to Instagram in the afternoon and wrote, "Wow, that hurt. What was the game until I hit the ground?"

"Hit my nose hard. Will get an x-ray to determine next steps. Thanks for all the kind messages. I promise to keep fighting!"

Puck Peterse (Phoenix Deceuninck) won the World Cup Sonnenhofen and wished Brand a speedy recovery.

"All of a sudden I saw her standing still. At first I thought it was bad luck, but after a bit I saw she wasn't there anymore. Her fall was lucky for me."

Zoe Backstedt, who finished third on the day, mentioned Brand's accident and how it affected the overall World Cup result.

When asked if she could have finished higher than third, she replied, "I don't think so. When Lucinda was still in the race, she was flying. She was just floating on the sand, which was really cool to watch, and her pack came back super fast. [But unfortunately, Lucinda fell over.