AG Insurance-Soudal's Kim Le Court-Pienaar has ended her season after crashing during the World Championships road race on Saturday, her team confirmed.
The Mauritian was one of several riders involved in crashes in Montreal over the weekend, but did still manage to finish the race, albeit in 45th place, not the result she may have been hoping for in the climber-friendly race.
However, since finishing the race, examinations have revealed a muscular injury that means Le Court-Pienaar will not be able to race the upcoming Italian Classics.
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"Following her crash in the road race at the World Championships in Montréal, further medical examinations confirmed a small tear in her quadriceps," a short statement from her team read. The quadriceps is the muscle at the font of the thigh.
"After further assessment and in consultation with Kim, the team and the medical staff, it has been decided to bring her 2026 season to an early end and prioritise her recovery. As a result, Kim will not compete in the Italian races as initially planned."
Despite a lacklustre end to the season in Montreal, and a difficult spring after a heavy crash at the Tour of Flanders, Le Court-Pienaar enjoyed a successful summer.
She defended her Mauritian road race and TT titles, won a stage of the Tour de France Femmes and finished ninth there, before claiming the overall at the Tour of Britain Women with a win on the Great Orme.
She is AG Insurance-Soudal's biggest points-scorer of 2026, consistently landing their biggest wins and she would have been hoping to chase a win in the upcoming Giro dell'Emilia or Tre Valle Varesine.
In her absence, and with climbers Urška Žigart and Justine Ghekiere also out of action, AG Insurance will look to riders like Lore De Schepper and the returning Sarah Gigante for their best chances at a result in Italy to round out the season.
Le Court-Pienaar will now turn her attention to 2027, where an uninterrupted run at the Ardennes Classics – she was the winner of Liège-Bastogne-Liège two years ago – will likely be a primary goal for the first half of the year.
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