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Continues: Pogačar crashed out of the Vuelta a España 2026 with 32 km left on stage 8, hol…
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Cruel Blow for Pogačar Likely Tears up Remaining Targets of 2026
sstokes
Pogačar's clavicle surgery is being delayed because of concussion protocol — the operation can't happen until neurological precautions clear, and that alone reshuffles his whole autumn. With Worlds on September 27, defending the rainbow jersey now depends on a medical timeline, not a training one.
This isn't the wrist fracture from Liège 2023, back on the bike within weeks. A displaced clavicle needing surgery, stacked with a stable C7 fracture and a concussion that's actively pushing the surgery date back, is a different category of injury. Four weeks out from Montreal, where he was set to defend a title he's held for two years, the surgical delay alone makes that start look unrealistic — and the European Championships and a sixth Il Lombardia sit even further down a compressed recovery window.

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