La Vuelta was left orphaned of its biggest attraction and of an era-defining cyclist who wins almost everything he sets out to do. Tadej Pogacar was also aiming to be crowned in the Spanish tour, as he was leading by almost four minutes over the second-placed rider (Enric Mas). But a stone got in his way and he fell hard to the ground, breaking his collarbone and a cervical vertebra (C7), as well as suffering a concussion and multiple abrasions. Transferred to Barcelona last night from the hospital in Gandía, as reported by As, he will be operated on in the Catalan City by Dr. Xavier Mir at the Dexeus Clinic when, according to the protocol that regulates procedures when there is a concussion, it is deemed safe to perform the surgery.
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Early Sunday morning, Pogacar posted a snapshot on his Instagram, an account with more than three million followers. In the photo, he was seen wearing a neck brace, his face bruised—he also broke his eyebrow—and making the rocker symbol. In the background, the Bee Gees song: Stayin Alive. A sign that the Slovenian wants to return as soon as possible, not used to being sidelined because he only had one serious accident in 2023, at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, when he suffered a multiple fracture in his left wrist. Since 2019, when he burst onto the professional scene, he has accumulated 130 victories in his record, with five Tours and one Giro. He is missing, of course, La Vuelta to have the three Grand Tours and join Anquetil, Gimondi, Merckx, Hinault, Contador, Nibali, Froome, and Vingegaard in the club of cyclists who have won all three Grand Tours. “Tadej is devastated because this is a difficult sporting situation that we have to accept. You have to know that a lot of work and sacrifice has been made. And he was on the path to victory, but with one fall, La Vuelta and the work and commitment of Tadej and the whole team end,” explained Joxean Matxín, general manager of UAE. Although he added: “But we will fight for what remains.”
From his team, they prefer not to say anything more for now until the concussion subsides and he can be surgically operated on. “After 24 hours, they will possibly operate on the collarbone and from there we will assess,” Matxín concluded. Afterwards, he will return to Monaco for recovery and it will be seen if he can participate in the races he had in mind: on September 27, the World Championship in Montreal, where he planned to seek his third consecutive rainbow jersey (although it seems impossible that he will arrive in time); on October 4, the European Championship, which this year is held in Ljubljana, the capital of his Slovenia; and the Lombardy, a Monument he has conquered in the last five years. “I don’t know if his season is over, we will see after the operation,” Matxín finished.
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