Two-time Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar has said he was “lucky” to only break a wrist when he crashed out of Sunday’s Liege-Bastogne-Liege one-day classic.
Pogacar, 24, had surgery on Sunday night and is now recovering.
“I’m lucky it’s just a broken wrist, considering the crazy crash that happened,” the Slovenian posted on social media.
“I really wish the best recovery to Dane Mikkel Honore who went down way harder than me.
“Congrats to Remco Evenepoel for the victory, our battle will wait until next time.”
UAE Team Emirates said Pogacar’s recovery would take about six weeks which will hamper his preparation for the Tour de France, which starts on 1 July.
Liege-Bastogne-Liege was to be the final race on Pogacar’s programme before he set off for altitude training.
Team medical director Dr Adrian Rotunno said Pogacar had sustained a “scaphoid fracture which required a small screw to realign the bone fragments. The procedure was successful and he will begin his recovery period at home”.
“Due to the nature of the injury, it’s approximately six weeks recovery. Though he will start with immediate rehab, and some training on an indoor trainer in the coming days,” added Rotunno.
Honore – who crashed with Pogacar – also had to pull out of the race after 85 kilometres and was taken to hospital.
Pogacar had been aiming to become only the third man to complete a hat-trick of Ardennes classic wins, after Davide Rebellin in 2004 and Philippe Gilbert in 2011.
