Maxim Van Gils has said there is "no need to be mad with [Jan] Christen" after his crash at the Clásica Jaén that has left him with a fractured hip and, it has just been revealed, shoulder.
The UAE Emirates-XRG rider apologised to Van Gils for causing the incident, which leaves the Belgian out of competition for several weeks and forces him to miss his main focus of the Ardennes Classics.
Van Gils also gave his version of events on how things unfolded in the three-up sprint between the two men and Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5).
"When the three of us came onto the home straight, nobody really wanted to make the first move because there was a bit of a tailwind and it was also slightly downhill. So you really needed the perfect moment," he said.
"Then Pidcock tried it on the left. I reacted. Christen then came from the right and maybe a bit closer than he needed. But that's the way it is in cycling. Things like that happen. Especially when you've been riding on gravel for four hours.
"Everyone wanted to get to the finish line as quickly as possible and the barrier was getting closer and closer. At that moment, I got a little knock from Christen on my handlebars. I tipped into the barrier, which probably broke my bike and then I flew off over the handlebars.
"I remember waiting at the race doctor's car for ten minutes afterwards because the doctors were discussing the situation with the team. I thought at that moment that I would probably be a bit stiff for the next few days, but that I could still build up a good form for Strade, Tirreno and Sanremo. And then someone from the team came to me and said that my hip was broken."
On top of the hip, there was also a broken shoulder confirmed by the AZ hospital in Herentals and revealed by the team on Thursday. While some of his favourite races are now off the menu completely for 2026, Van Gils stayed positive about the second half of the season, which will arrive after working closely with physios and the team to try and rebuild his strength.
"Of course, it's not the best feeling of my life, but it's okay. The situation is what it is. I'm not hopeless or totally sad and hope that the healing progresses as quickly as possible," said Van Gils.
"In a month's time, we will take new scans and pictures and see how everything develops. If everything goes well, I might be able to get back on the rollers in four weeks or something. Yes, it was a pretty big crash."
'We cannot demonise Jan' says Vermeersch
After Christen stressed in his initial apology statement how he "would never put any other rider in harm like that on purpose," his teammate Florian Vermeersch backed him up and called for people not to "demonise" the 21-year-old.
Amid a storm of social media backlash, Vermeersch supported his teammate as he spoke to Cyclingnews at the UAE Tour, reiterating that what happened would never have been intentional, and that things had perhaps been blown out of proportion.
"It was very unfortunate. I think Jan didn't have any bad intentions. I know Jan, he's a really good guy, and from the TV, yeah, it looked maybe not the best, but if you analyse it, I think he didn't see him coming," said Vermeersch, who came through the ranks at Lotto alongside Van Gils before they both changed teams.
"I think the reactions are a bit over the top. But then, on the other hand, Maxim has a severe injury, which is also very unfortunate for him.
"I know Maxim very well, and you don't wish anything like that to happen to any rider. But I think we cannot demonise Jan too much about this."
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