Brennauer out for six weeks after team pursuit crash

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Lisa Brennauer will be out of action for six weeks after being diagnosed with a broken upper arm following crashing during the team pursuit at the UEC Track European Championships last week. Brennauer hit the deck along with teammates Charlotte Becker, Gudrun Stock, and Lisa Klein during round one of the competition as they competed against Great Britain for a place in the gold medal match-up.

Germany had gone third quickest in qualifying the day before, setting a national record in the process, and were among the favourites to go home with a medal.

Last week's European Championships marked a return to the track for the 29-year-old German. She took bronze and silver medals in the team pursuit in 2010 and 2011 respectively and joined Judith Arndt and Becker in the three-rider line-up at the Olympic Games in London. She has since focused on the road and had been nervous about her return to the boards.

"I did not even have a track bike in the basement, so I was very nervous before the first training after four years of rest. You have to get used to it: the speed, pressure, stiff gait, and the distance, but after five minutes everything was the same again," she told rad-net.de after the Germany's qualifying effort.

Brennauer will have to wait at least six weeks before she can race on the boards again as she recovers from her injuries, meaning that the opening round of the World Cup in Pruszkow next week is out of the question. She will also miss the second round in Manchester just a week later. If she does decide to race on the track again before the road season kicks off next year, the third round of the World Cup in Milton, Canada at the start of December is a possible moment for a comeback.

Brennauer, who currently rides for Canyon-SRAM, is set to switch to Wiggle-High5 next season, along with Kirsten Wild, Katie Archibald, and Elinor Barker.