Michal Kwiatkowski reveals extent of thigh injury after Milan-Sanremo crash

The incident happened with around 64 kilometers to go, when Michal Kwiatkowski hit a curb at speed and slammed into a roadside post. The Ineos Grenadiers rider was forced to abandon immediately, with teammates Ben Swift and Josh Tarling also caught up in the crash. In the hours after the crash, his first update suggested he had avoided major injuries, posting a short message from hospital: “Scratched but not broken.”

That initial optimism was backed by early medical checks. “It was a tough morning getting out of bed, but I’m in the Côte d’Azur and being really well taken care of,” he wrote on Instagram. “I’ve got quite a few abrasions, my elbow took a hit and needed stitches, but nothing serious. The CT scan was clear and the X-rays of my thigh and elbow look good. The biggest issue now is a massive bruise on my thigh. It’s really swollen and I can’t bend my leg at the moment, so we’ll see how it develops in the coming days. Honestly, I have no idea how my femur survived that impact… Maybe my short legs and some muscle helped this time. It feels like Thor hit my thigh with his hammer.”

Several days later, that “massive bruise” has proven to be far more complex. While the abrasions are healing, deeper tissue damage is still causing significant pain and restriction. Kwiatkowski turned to Instagram again to explain what further scans had revealed.

“If you’re wondering why I’m struggling to bend my leg, I’ll tell you what the MRI showed,” he said. “My right thigh has suffered a lot of muscle damage, with a massive swelling of 30 centimeters along a deep intramuscular bruise and a huge post-traumatic fluid buildup trapped in the fascia, extending up to 24 centimeters. I don’t know what a broken bone feels like, but this hurts unbelievably.”

The race itself was eventually won by Tadej Pogačar, while for Michal Kwiatkowski the immediate priority is now recovery. His spring calendar had been set around a return at the Tour of the Basque Country, followed by the Amstel Gold Race, La Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. At this stage, there has been no update on his recovery timeline.

In the meantime, Ineos Grenadiers are enjoying their strongest season since 2018, when they were still known as Team Sky. So far, the team has already secured 13 victories, compared to 15 across the entire 2018 season.