Jan Christen disqualified from Clásica Jaén after crashing Van Gils

After Tom Pidcock launched his sprint for the remaining podium places, Christen attempted to follow the Brit’s slipstream. In doing so, the young Swiss rider drifted to the left and deviated from his line.

Television images show Christen moving off his line to the left hand side of the road and making slight contact with Van Gils, who was preparing to open up his own sprint. The Belgian, racing for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, lost his balance, brushed the barriers and crashed heavily at high speed.

After reviewing the footage, the race commissaires ruled that Christen had failed to hold his line in the sprint and disqualified him from the results.

Van Gils remained on the tarmac for several minutes and appeared badly shaken. Shortly after the race Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe released the following statement: "Our medical team is assessing the situation and will decide tomorrow morning about his start at Ruta del Sol. Wishing you a speedy recovery, Maxim!" 

The Ruta del Sol starts on Wednesday in Benahavís.

For Christen, It is not the first time this season that he has made the headlines for the wrong reasons. 

At the AlUla Tour he was recently in the spotlight after a crash, when he aggressively yanked his bike out from between several other riders and then used a sticky bottle to make his way back to the peloton. A few kilometres after the crash, he also appeared to vent his frustration at other riders as he fought his way back to the peloton.