Chloe Dygert (USA) crashed in the elite women's time trial of the UCI Road World Championships on Thursday. She appeared to lose control on the descent and crashed into the barriers and down the opposite grass edge, which prevented her from finishing the race.

Daigert was treated by the race's medical staff in an ambulance and airlifted to a hospital in Bologna. He was found to be conscious.

USA Cycling later confirmed that Dygert suffered a deep laceration to her left leg that required surgery; according to a USA Cycling press release, she underwent surgery Thursday night and is resting and expected to make a full recovery.

The American, who won in Yorkshire last year and was favored to win her second consecutive world title, set the fastest time at the intermediate checkpoint, but on her way back to the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola, she went over a roadside barrier and He fell over.

The elite women's race was run on a flat 31.7 km out-and-back, with the automobile course as the start and finish. At the 14.9 km intermediate checkpoint, Daigert ran an impressive time of 19:35, almost half a minute faster than Maren Reusser (Switzerland) and Van der Breggen (Netherlands).

However, Diggart seemed to lose control of his bike on a downhill right-hand bend and crashed over a roadside barrier. Padding in the corner ended just before she hit the barrier, making it a hard crash for the American. Video footage shows her going over the barrier and the motorcycle and crashing into the other side.

Dygert was forced to abandon the race and was treated by medical staff on the side of the road before being taken to an ambulance. His injuries were not confirmed, but he was conscious.

Anna van der Breggen (Netherlands) won the time trial in Imola, her first world title after finishing second in the elite women's time trial at the UCI Road World Championships on four previous occasions.

Van der Breggen covered the 31.7 km course in a time of 40:20, 15 seconds ahead of silver medalist Marlen Reusser (Switzerland) and 31 seconds ahead of bronze medalist Ellen van Dijk (Netherlands).