Tadej Pogacar has announced he will end his season prematurely following surgery on a fractured collarbone. The injury, sustained in a crash at the Vuelta a España last weekend, rules him out of this month’s world championships.
Pogacar, a five-time Tour de France champion, crashed out of the Vuelta on stage eight. He was taken to hospital where he was also found to have a concussion and a cervical fracture, in addition to multiple cuts and bruises.
Adrian Rotunno, the team’s medical director, stated that while Pogacar is recovering well from surgery, the combination of his injuries led to the decision, made with Pogacar, that he will not return to competition this season.
Pogacar expressed his disappointment, saying, “Of course, this isn’t the way I wanted my season to finish. Right now, the most important thing is to recover properly and give my body the time it needs.”