Young UAE rider escapes career threatening injury after track crash leaves 50 centimeters of wood splinters

The 18-year-old, part of the development structure of UAE Team Emirates-XRG, went down at speed on the wooden track of the Eddy Merckx Cycling Centre. What followed was anything but a routine fall.

“During my fall, I slid across the track, and a 50 cm long piece of wood splintered from the track and went directly through my hip and upper left leg,” Mauss wrote.

He was taken straight to hospital and operated on within hours. “Everything went smoothly, and I am already back home now,” he said.

Mauss admitted he had doubts about sharing the incident publicly. “I thought about sharing this post for the last few days, but I think it is important to also show these sides of the journey and the sport.”

Despite the severity of the crash, the outcome could have been far worse. “I got really lucky because the splinter missed my nerves and most of my leg muscles,” he explained. “Only a few centimeters could have meant a career ending injury.”

The young rider expressed gratitude for the support around him during the aftermath. “I am really grateful to be in such good hands and to have so many supportive and loving people around me.”

Now facing time away from racing, he remains determined to return. “I will be out for a while now, but it could have been a lot worse,” he said, adding: “The work I have put in over the last few months is definitely not lost, and I am certain there is still a lot to come this season.”

Mauss recently competed in the U23 editions of Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Paris-Roubaix, where he finished 40th and 45th respectively.