Two months after crashing out of the Vuelta, Pogačar has revealed the full extent of his injuries, and resultant mental struggles as he looks ahead to 2027.
Kristof Ramon, Cor Vos
As professional cyclists go, Tadej Pogačar has been remarkably lucky. Since turning pro in 2019, his worst injury was a wrist fracture at Liège-Bastogne-Liège in 2023, and otherwise all he’d endured was the kind of road rash and muscle strains that went under the radar, at least once the headlines had been grabbed and wrung for all they’re worth before he went and won something else.
That all changed at this year’s Vuelta a España where, after winning three stages in seven days, the 28-year-old crashed out while wearing the red jersey, suffering a later-confirmed list of injuries that included concussion and fractures to a cervical vertebra and collarbone.
“These crashes always happen fast,” Pogačar recalled, speaking to The Athletic in a recent in-depth interview. “I remember losing the handlebar with my right hand, so I was leaning forward and going over the handlebars. I was kind of on the bike still when I saw one yellow jersey from Visma, I think it was [Ben] Tulett, and I hit him and then we crashed.
“The next thing I remember was flying and hitting the floor really hard. I don’t remember hitting it with my head, or the first time that I tried to stand up, but I remember I couldn’t pick my arm up. I asked the doctor to pick it up for me. And then I just wanted to sit on the floor by the hard shoulder. I remember I tried to pick up the bike, but with my left hand I couldn’t hold anything. There’s not much I recollect from the ambulance, but I remember going to a nearby hospital, and that was quite the experience … I was just laying there and signing autographs for the doctors and nurses, taking some photos.”
Pictured here on stage 6 of the Vuelta a España, which would be his third win in six days, Pogačar revealed that on arrival in hospital, he signed fragments of his sliced-up race leader’s skinsuit for the staff.
The knock-on effects outlasted the Vuelta – eventually won by Enric Mas – with Pogačar pretty quickly ruled out of defence attempts at the World Championships in Montréal, then a home European Champs, and finally what might have been a record-breaking sixth Il Lombardia title. Instead, the Slovenian star was forced to go through what so many of his rivals have experienced at least once, that is, the mentally and physically arduous process of recovery and reset.
Part of that process included the discovery that his already-lengthy list of injuries was incomplete.
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