Kell O’Brien hit by van while out training, broken collarbone ends spring Classics season early

Australian Jayco-AlUla rider Kell O'Brien had been expecting to line up at Paris-Roubaix on Sunday, to continue on with his spring Classics campaign, but his plans and the team’s had to change. 

“Unfortunately, Kell O’Brien will not be riding Paris-Roubaix this weekend after suffering a broken collarbone in a crash during training this week,” said Jayco-AlUla in a medical update. “He has headed home to recover and we look forward to seeing him back on the bike soon.”

The rider who won Olympic gold on the track last year in the Team Pursuit displayed his Classics promise with a seventh-place on his Dwars door Vlaanderen debut in 2022, and while he hasn’t managed to better that yet he has been one of the team’s stronger riders on the cobbles in the past week, coming 35th at Dwars door Vlaanderen this year. However, he’ll have to leave his third start at Paris-Roubaix for another season. 

"Spring classics done for me [as] unfortunately hit by a van out training in Ghent,” said O'Brien in an Instagram post on Thursday that added a little more detail to the team medical update. “Surgery on the collarbone tomorrow."

It’s not the first time O’Brien has broken his collarbone and had to have surgery, crashing in the 2020 Tour Down Under while racing with the Australian national squad, so he’ll know all too well the recovery path ahead.

Down O’Brien, Jayco-AlUla will head into the 259km Paris-Roubaix with the support squad around team leader Max Walscheid including the experienced players of Jasha Sütterlin – taking on his ninth Paris-Roubaix – Luka Mezgec and Elmar Reinders while Patrick Gamper will be taking on a second Roubaix and Bob Donaldson and Jelte Krijnsen are making their debut.

“Roubaix is the biggest goal of my spring campaign, but there are a thousand things that can happen beforehand or during the race,” said Walscheid in a Jayco-AlUla statement. "There’s also a question mark about if it will it be wet, which increases the chances of crashes and mechanicals.” 

“This is not within my influence, I can only control what is, and I try to tick those boxes as good as possible. Otherwise, I will take it as it comes. I hope that more pieces fall into place at the day itself. I’ve put in all of the work over the past weeks and months, and currently, I am where I should be.”