Tadej Pogacar will miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery on the fractured collarbone he sustained in a crash at the Vuelta a España, ruling him out of this month's world championships.
Crash and injuries
The five-time Tour de France champion crashed out of the Vuelta last weekend and was taken to hospital after a heavy fall on stage eight. He also sustained a concussion and cervical fracture, along with multiple cuts and bruises.
Pogacar had been leading by three minutes and 50 seconds a week into the 21-day race and was the overwhelming favourite for victory in his bid to complete a career clean sweep of the three Grand Tours.
Surgery and recovery
"Of course, this isn't the way I wanted my season to finish. Right now, the most important thing is to recover properly and give my body the time it needs," Pogacar said in a UAE Team Emirates statement.
"It has been a season with many special moments and I'm proud of what we achieved together. Now I'll focus on getting healthy, supporting the guys from home, and coming back next year ready for what's ahead," said Pogacar.
Season goals and team decision
The 27-year-old had planned to target a record-equalling third world road race title in Montreal later this month before going for a sixth straight Giro di Lombardia victory in October.
"Tadej is progressing well following surgery and we are very satisfied with his recovery to this point," said the team's medical director, Adrian Rotunno. "However, given the combination of his injuries … we have taken the decision, together with Tadej, that he will not return to competition this season."
In July, Pogacar joined an elite club of five-time Tour de France winners with Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Induráin. He was seeking to become only the fourth rider to complete a Tour-Vuelta double in the same season.
The Vuelta continues on Saturday with Enric Mas holding a 1min 45sec lead going into stage 14, while Lewis Askey holds a 12sec lead entering the penultimate stage of the Tour of Britain Men.
