“Quite serious surgery”: World Cup chance for Pogacar

Tadej Pogacar could participate in the road cycling world championships at the end of September despite his horrific crash at the Vuelta a España.

August 31, 2026

From: dpa

His team boss, Mauro Gianetti, indicated this was a possibility. However, they wanted to wait for the necessary surgery on the broken collarbone before making a definitive prognosis.

"Time is very short, he's still in the hospital, he hasn't had surgery yet. Of course, it won't be easy to recover in time for the World Championships," said Gianetti on the Vuelta rest day. "But hey, we'll have a clearer picture in the next few days. The broken collarbone is pretty bad; it requires quite serious surgery. That certainly doesn't help."

Pogacar is the reigning road cycling world champion. © APA/afp / JOSE JORDAN

Pogacar, who had won the world championship twice in a row, suffered a serious crash on Saturday's eighth stage of the Vuelta a España, injuring his shoulder and also sustaining a concussion. Due to the head injury, he has not yet been able to undergo surgery. This is scheduled for Tuesday or Wednesday. A broken bone typically heals in six weeks, but in cycling, there have been comebacks after just four weeks.

Fear at Gianetti

Gianetti was immediately very worried about his star athlete. "I was really scared, because when you see those high speeds, you can get injured," said the Swiss coach. "When he stood up, I was somewhat relieved. I said to myself, 'Okay, he's standing, he's walking, he wants to continue.' But of course, that wasn't possible."

He was the overwhelming favorite to win the Vuelta a España. © ANSA / Javier Lizon

Pogacar aimed to win the Vuelta a España for the first time this year. The five-time Tour de France winner had only competed in the Vuelta once before, in 2019 at the age of 20, finishing third. Besides the World Championships in Montreal, the road race is on September 27th, the Slovenian also planned to start in the Il Lombardia on October 10th. Pogacar had won the "Race of the Falling Leaves" four times in a row.

Keywords cycling racing bike Return Tadej pogacar