Calay News
Team UAE has announced that Tadej Pogacar, a Slovenian cyclist who was looking to win all three Ardennes Classics, has fractured the scaphoid and lunate bones in his left hand in a crash during the Liège-Bastogne-Liège race. Pogacar was forced to abandon the race due to the injury and will undergo surgery by a specialist hand surgeon in Genk. The recovery time has not been specified. The injury comes just over two months before the start of the Tour de France, which Pogacar hopes to win for the third consecutive time.
Pogacar abandoned the race after a crash at kilometer 85, before the main climbs on the program, along with Danish cyclist Mikkel Honoré. Pogacar’s teammates tried to help him, but it was impossible for him to continue. This injury is unusual for the Slovenian cyclist, as he crashes rarely, and the last time he did not finish a race was at the Clásica San Sebastián at the end of July 2022.
Pogacar had won the first two Ardennes classics, the Amstel Gold Race and the Flèche Wallonne, and was looking to win Liège-Bastogne-Liège to complete the treble, something only two cyclists in history have achieved. The Liège-Bastogne-Liège race is known for its difficulties and spectacular crashes, such as last year’s crash of Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe.
Pogacar is a very skilled cyclist and has had a great record since the start of the season, with twelve wins in eighteen days of racing, including Paris-Nice and the Tour of Flanders. The duration of his convalescence has not been specified, but it is expected that he will be able to recover in time for the Tour de France.
