Dutch cyclocross star Annemarie Werst (777) underwent successful shoulder surgery after crashing during a mountain bike race in Leukerbad, Switzerland, on Sunday, Dutch media reported.

The 2019/20 UCI Cyclocross World Cup overall winner suffered no broken bones or fractures, but had to be rescued by helicopter after tearing a tendon around her collarbone.

"They called a helicopter, but it couldn't land where I fell," Worst explained to the Algemeen Dagblad on Tuesday. 'So they had to pull me up with a winch. It wasn't until I was in the helicopter that I realized how beautiful the surroundings were."

"It was pretty scary," she admitted. At first I wanted to walk down the mountain. I got a big bump on my collarbone, but the pain wasn't too bad at the time. I thought my collarbone was broken and maybe my shoulder was broken too."

The Belgian 777 team opted to have Worst undergo surgery by a specialist in Herentals, Belgium.

"It took a while," she admitted to AD.nl. 'After a while, you just don't know how to sit up.'

Worst, who began her cycling career as a mountain biker, has become known for her cross results in recent years, winning the under-23 title at the 2017 cyclocross world championships.In 2018, she won the elite European in her home town of Rosmalen Champion, and during the 2019/20 cyclocross season, Worst won three rounds of the UCI World Cup (Bern, Tabor, and Normay) to take the overall title. He then finished second to Dutch compatriot Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado at the World Championships in February.

Until the mountain bike race weekend, Worst had not raced since February due to a coronavirus outbreak, but was looking forward to road racing this summer.

"It's the first real injury of my career. I had planned to race on the road this year, but that's not going to happen now, so I want to be ready again for the start of the 'cross season in September."