Niklas Behrens from the Team Visma | Lease a Bike will not be able to start at the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad next weekend. The German professional cyclist crashed on the final stage of the UAE Tour and suffered a broken collarbone. As his team announced on Monday, Behrens will require surgery. After a short recovery period, the U23 world champion from Zurich should then return to training. "We wish him a speedy recovery and look forward to seeing him back in the peloton soon," said Team Visma | Lease a Bike on social media.
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Chris Froome breaks his collarbone
The crash occurred just a few kilometres after the start of the seventh and final stage of the UAE Tour. In addition to Behrens, six other riders were involved in the incident. While overall runner-up Joshua Tarling (INEOS Grenadiers) and Austrian Rainer Kepplinger (Bahrain - Victorious) were able to continue the race, Chris Froome (Israel - Premier Tech) and Arvid de Kleijn (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) also had to abandon alongside Behrens.
Like Behrens, both suffered a broken collarbone. For Froome, it is a further setback in his career, having had to battle with health problems time and again in recent years.
The UAE tour finally ended with the third overall victory for Tadej Pogačar. The Slovenian also won the final stage at Jebel Hafeet and extended his lead in the overall standings once again. It was a perfect start to the season for Pogačar.
Effects on the spring classics campaign
The cancellation is particularly bitter for Behrens, as he was actually scheduled to take part in the opening weekend in Belgium on Saturday as a new pro with Visma | Lease a Bike. The Omloop Het Nieuwsblad is traditionally regarded as the start of the cobblestone season in Belgium and is an important indicator for the following classics.
