Katrijn De Clercq (Lotto) sustained a broken chin after being involved in a late-race crash at Le Samyn des Dames on Tuesday. The 23-year-old Belgian was forced to abandon the race and her injuries were assessed at a hospital.
De Clercq went down hard inside of 40 kilometres to go in a crash that involved Lizzie Holden (UAE Team ADQ) and Gladys Verhulst-Wild (AG Insurance-Soudal). Both Holden and Verhulst-Wild were able to continue and the latter finished fourth in the one-day race won by Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime).
Her injuries also included a fractured pinky finger and a knee sprain, but no concussion was detected.
In her fourth year with the Continental squad, De Clercq claimed one UCI victory in her palmarès, having won the GP Lucien Van Impe. Last season, she secured sixth place at the Ronde de Mouscron and followed it up with a ninth-place finish at Scheldeprijs Women.
In addition to road racing, De Clercq has competed on the track in recent years. She represented Belgium at the 2024 Olympic Games in both the women’s omnium and the women’s madison.
Lotto released an official medical update on social media:
“Katrijn De Clercq suffered a heavy crash during Le Samyn des Dames. She sustained a broken chin and a broken little finger from her crash and sprained her knee. Hospital examinations revealed no concussion.”
“We are thinking of Katrijn and wish her a good recovery.”
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