Slovenian cyclist Tadej Pogacar has confirmed he won’t race again this year after a terrifying crash during the Vuelta a España, Spain’s three-week Grand Tour, cut short a dominant run at the top of the standings.
The 27-year-old, who will turn 28 later this month, went down during stage 8 of the race on August 29 while holding a commanding lead of nearly four minutes. The fall left him with a concussion, a displaced fracture of his left collarbone, a stable fracture of a neck vertebra (C7), and multiple abrasions, according to his team, UAE Team Emirates. He underwent surgery and is now focused on recovery and rehabilitation.
As a result, Pogacar will skip several major events he was favored to win again, including the road cycling World Championships set for September 19 in Montreal, Canada; the European Championships in his home country of Slovenia in early October; and Il Lombardia, the season’s final “Monument” race, also in October.
Despite the setback, the team delivered good news alongside the bad: Pogacar has extended his contract with UAE Team Emirates through the 2032 season. “This team has felt like home from the start,” he said in a statement, adding that while this isn’t how he imagined his season ending, his priority now is giving his body the time it needs to heal properly.
You can read the original report at eltiempo.com.
Source: Pogacar reapareció y tomó radical decisión: no volverá este año tras escalofriante accidente en la Vuelta a España (eltiempo.com). English version produced with AI assistance.
Image: flatworldsedge, BY-SA 2.0 (via Openverse).