Mikel Landa gets up after crashing at the Challenge Mallorca(Image credit: Getty Images)
Mikel Landa on the ground after being caught up in a crash(Image credit: Getty Images)
Mikel Landa (Movistar)(Image credit: Getty Images)
Mikel Landa (Movistar) (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Mikel Landa (Movistar)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Movistar's Mikel Landa was hoping to regain his momentum after a terrible end to his 2018 season, but suffered a broken collarbone in his first race back, the Challenge Mallorca, on Thursday, and will require surgery to fix the break, his team announced.
Landa was involved in a large crash during the Trofeo Ses Salines-Campos-Porreres-Felanitx with 15km to go with Rasmus Byriel Iversen (Lotto Soudal), who also suffered a broken clavicle.
It is unclear how long Landa will be out of action, but he will likely miss the Vuelta a Andalucía, his next scheduled race February 20-24. He is scheduled to have surgery after returning home to Álava on Friday.
His other targets, Tirreno-Adriatico, the Vuelta al País Vasco and the Ardennes Classics, are still realistic, however, and his aim to race both the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France should not be in jeopardy.
Landa suffered a bad crash in the Clasica San Sebastian in 2018 that left him with a fractured vertebra. He tried to resume racing six weeks later, but ended his season in frustration, having to miss out on a planned participation in a world championships that would have suited his abilities.
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