Broken collarbone for Jan Christen after Sanremo crash

The 21-year-old Swiss rider was involved in a crash that was not picked up by the TV cameras, 55km into the 298km race. The crash not only involved Christen but also the Venezuelan champion Orluis Aular (Movistar).

Much had been made about the role of Christen in the team ahead of Tadej Pogačar’s inevitable attack, and where the Swiss rider would be deployed, as a key climbing lieutenant alongside Isaac del Toro.

Following an X-ray, the diagnosis for Christen was a broken collarbone, as confirmed by Gianetti post-race, and Pogačar in his post-race press conference, in quotes collected by Tuttobiciweb. 

"We had lost Christen, who broke his collarbone. I saw that Florian (Vermeersch) and Felix (Grossschartner) were waiting for me and did great work to bring me back into the group," said Pogačar. 

In the end, the script didn’t go to plan with the World Champion crashing just 5km from the foot of the Cipressa, but that didn’t stop the Slovenian from delivering arguably the most iconic performance of his career to date.

For Christen, it’s a big setback after a strong start to the season, which included winning the AlUla Tour and finishing 6th at Strade Bianche.

An official statement came from the team on Sunday morning confirming a fractured left clavicle.

"Unfortunately, Jan Christen sustained a left clavicle fracture in his crash at Milano-San Remo. He will undergo surgery in Zurich on Monday before beginning his recovery under supervision of team medical staff," said Dr. Adrian Rotunno, Medical Director of UAE Team Emirates-XRG in an official statement.

This also isn’t the first time since UAE Team Emirates-XRG has lost a significant rider to injury this season.

Jhonatan Narváez crashed out of the Santos Tour Down Under on the fourth stage, while sitting 2nd overall behind teammate Jay Vine. The Ecuadorian champion suffered several stable compression fractures in the thoracic vertebrae and remains sidelined.

Whilst Jay Vine would go on to win the Tour Down Under, it wasn’t without its challenges as the Australian collided with a Kangaroo on the fifth stage, leading to a wrist fracture which he managed to deal with until the GC was secured. 

Belgium champion Tim Wellens crashed out of Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne, suffering a broken collarbone. Both riders were present in the 2025 Milan-Sanremo line-up and thus left UAE with a puzzle to solve as to who would step in.