Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe rider Maxim Van Gils will miss ‘months’ of racing, his team has said, after he fractured his pelvis in a finish-line crash at the Clásica Jaén on Monday.
The Belgian came down in the final meters of the Spanish one-day race, as he opened his sprint for second place against Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5) and Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates-XRG). Christen was later disqualified by the commissaires, having appeared to deviate to the left, veering towards the barriers and across Van Gils’s line.
Afterwards, Van Gils was shown writhing in pain on the ground. He did not finish the race, which Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) won with a 55km solo attack. Pidcock finished second, while Wellens’s new team-mate Benoît Cosnefroy placed third.
“Maxim will miss the upcoming months of racing.
“The whole team stands behind you, Maxim – every step of the way.”
Replying to the statement on X, UAE Team Emirates-XRG manager Joxean Fernández Matxin wrote: “Ohhh so sorry, this is bad news…!!!!! Wishing him a full recovery.”
According to ProCyclingStats, Van Gils was due to compete in the Vuelta a Andalucía, Milan-San Remo, Tirreno-Adriatico and Itzulia Basque Country in the coming months. His programme has now been adjusted on the website to show a potential return at Amstel Gold Race on 19 April, although this has not been confirmed by his team.
