Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) has issued a heartfelt apology for causing a crash during the Clásica Jaén that has put Maxim Van Gils (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) out of action for at least two months.
Christen was part of a three-rider chasing group on Monday behind teammate and race winner Tim Wellens with Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5) and Van Gils.
During the dash for the line, Christen tried to start his sprint but ran into Van Gils, sending the Belgian sprawling to the tarmac. Officials disqualified Christen from the race. Teammate Benoît Cosnefroy was elevated to the last spot on the podium after crossing the line in fourth place.
The impact of the crash fractured Van Gils' pelvis, and he will miss "the upcoming months of racing", according to his team.
Christen said the incident was "not the end I intended after the unfortunate crash close [to] the finish" before explaining what happened.
"I wanna apologize to Maxime (sic) for today, I jumped for the slipstream of Tom when he startet (sic) the sprint and did not see him coming on my left inside.
"It was an unfortunate incident, which can unfortunately happen in races. What I know for myself is that I would never put any other rider in harm like that on purpose.
"There's a lot of emotion in my head about the situation, and I just wish from my heart to Maxime a speedy recovery and hope I can compete with him for victory again in the future."
Van Gils had just begun his second season with Red Bull with a victory in the team time trial during the Mallorca Challenge and third place in the Trofeo Andratx behind teammate Remco Evenepoel.
Van Gils is still scheduled to compete in the Ardennes Classics in April.
