'I got really lucky' – German racer left with 50cm piece of wood lodged in hip after track crash

German rider Moritz Mauss underwent emergency career-saving surgery to remove a 50cm (20in) splinter of wood from his hip this week following a crash at the International Belgian Track Meeting on Sunday.

The 18-year-old, who rides for the UAE Team Emirates Gen-Z development squad, was competing in the Madison in the Gent track cycling event when he crashed, sliding across the wooden track.

As a result, splinters of wood from the track lodged in his leg, including a half-metre-long piece in his hip.

Writing in an Instagram post on Wednesday, Mauss said that he underwent surgery within hours of the crash, adding that he was "only a few centimetres" away from "a career-ending injury.

"I thought about sharing this post for the last few days, but I think it is important to also show these sides of the journey and the sport," Mauss wrote.

"On Sunday, I crashed in the Madison race at the International Track Meeting in Gent. During my fall, I slid across the track, and a 50cm long piece of wood splintered from the track and went directly through my hip and upper left leg.

"I was taken directly to the hospital and had surgery only about two hours after the accident. Everything went smoothly, and I am already back home now.

"I got really lucky because the splinter missed my nerves and most of my leg muscles. I will be out for a while now, but it could have been A LOT worse. Only a few centimetres could have meant a career-ending injury."

It isn't the first time a track racer has been impaled by a piece of the wooden track surface. In 2011, Malaysian sprinter Azizulhasni Awang had a 23cm (9-inch) sliver pierce his lower left leg after a crash during the Manchester Track World Cup.

Then, in 2019, Italian junior Lorenzo Gobbo - also racing at the Eddy Merckx velodrome in Gent - underwent three hours of surgery to have a 50cm splinter removed from his hip.

Mauss, who this year has 25 road race days under his belt, including appearances at Paris-Roubaix Espoirs and Liège-Bastogne-Liège Under-23, is riding his first season in the under-23 ranks after moving on from the German Junior Racing Team last season.

He finished 9th in the junior road race at the Rwanda World Championships last September, while his top result so far in 2026 is third on stage 1 of the Istrian Spring Tour.

Mauss didn't specify a timeframe for a comeback from his freak injury, though he concluded on a positive note, writing that "I am certain there is still a lot more to come this season.

"Thanks for the amazing support from my national team and the people at the hospital," Mauss added.

"I am really grateful to be in such good hands and to have so many supportive and loving people around me!!!

"Among all the wonderful moments this year and everything this sport has already brought me, those low points are also part of it. We have to accept what happened, and I will make the best of it.

"The work I have put in over the last few months is definitely not lost, and I am certain there is still a lot to come this season. Time to enjoy some unexpected days off the bike now."