Tasmanian cyclist Nicole Frain suffered the highs and lows of international competition in one afternoon.
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In her first race in Belgium, Frain had a strong start and won a prime sprint in the GP Sofie Goos stage race held in the Berchem-Borgerhout region of Antwerp in the country's north.
She also briefly joined a breakaway before disaster struck and she fell heavily after being pushed into the gutter.
Frain required stitches in a badly cut leg and will be off the bike for a while.
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"I didn't come all this way not to jump back on my bike as soon as possible," she said on Facebook.
Frain grew up in Launceston and went to St Patrick's College before moving to Hobart for work.
She only took up cycling last year after stress fractures to her foot and hip curtailed her triathlon career.
Embracing a steep learning curve in the National Road Series with TIS Racing, she has since become Tasmanian road champion.
And in Evandale in March she continued the home state's impressive run at the Oceania Road Cycling Championships by claiming a silver medal behind Victoria's Kate Perry over a 26.2-kilometre course in the elite women's time trial.
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