PARIS (AFP) - Former world ski champion Luc Alphand has been seriously injured in a crash during a motorcycle rally in France, his agents said on Monday.

The 43-year-old Frenchman sustained injuries to his spine while competing in the Rand'Auvergne rally in central France on Sunday and will need to undergo an operation in Clermont Ferrand on Monday.

"From what I understand Luc did not lose consciousness. There is no danger of brain damage. We think that he fractured his spine," Alphand's manager Philippe Poincioux told AFP.

"Mentally it's a big blow for him knowing that he will be unable to move for some time. He is really down even though he knows he has been lucky it was not worse. He is in great physical shape and that will help recovery," he added

Alphand was the overall ski World Cup winner in 1997 and he converted to rallying after he retired from the slopes winning the Dakar Rally in 2006.