Tim Wellens delivers clear update after Kuurne crash: no Spring Classics

The 34-year-old rider abandoned Sunday’s race after sliding into a roadside ditch as the pace lifted heading into the hill zone, climbing back up in visible discomfort and holding his collarbone. 

Later that evening UAE Team Emirates-XRG confirmed he had suffered a collarbone fracture and would undergo surgery before starting his recovery at home under the supervision of the team’s medical staff.

Now, Wellens has underlined the impact of the injury in an Instagram post, writing: “The 2026 Classics are over before they even began. Right clavicle fractured. Surgery went well thanks to the excellent medical team at the hospital, and the recovery process has already started. Very disappointed to miss the upcoming races, but I’ll be fully supporting my @uae_team_emirates teammates from home. Thank you everyone for all the messages, replies might be a bit slower for now with only one arm 😂”

The Belgian champion had started 2026 strongly with victory at the Clásica Jaén and was expected to play an important role in UAE's Classics plans. Wellens had been set to support Tadej Pogačar at Milan-San Remo and across the cobbled Classics. 

Earlier this season, Pogačar also lost another key lieutenant when Jhonatan Narváez sustained several stable thoracic vertebrae compression fractures at the Tour Down Under.

For Wellens, the most likely scenario now is to focus on recovery and build back up towards the Tour de France, where he would normally be part of the squad tasked with helping Tadej Pogačar in his bid for a fifth victory.