Amy Pieters' SD Worx team issued a statement on Friday saying that she had undergone surgery for head injuries and was placed in an artificial coma after crashing while training with the Dutch national team in Calpe, Spain on Thursday. 

"Yesterday Amy Pieters was operated on her head. During this operation, the doctors took away the pressure in her head that was created by the fall. Amy will be kept asleep the coming days," the statement read. 

"When the doctors wake her up in a few days, it will be possible to make an assessment of the possible damage," the statement added. "Her family has traveled to the hospital."

The 30-year-old Dutch woman is a specialist in endurance track events. 

Pieters, along with compatriot Kirsten Wild, has won the women's world title in Madison track racing in each of the past three years. Madison is a track-relay race in which the riders on a team (usually two) have to physically touch each other as they hand off to their partner. 

Pieters was also crowned European road race champion in 2019.