After showing great shape at Strade Bianche with an eighth-place finish, the rest of Michael Valgren's (EF Education-EasyPost) Classics campaign has been plunged into doubt after breaking his collarbone at Tirreno-Adriatico.
Valgren crashed 11.4km from the finish in Follonica on stage 2 after a touch of wheels and crash for Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco AlUla) rippled back through the peloton, causing the EF rider and Xabier Azparren (Q36.5 Pro Cycling) to go down.
The Dane didn't continue the race, and after being taken for X-rays, his team confirmed on Tuesday evening that he had fractured his right clavicle. Groenewegen and Azparren both finished the stage, but Azparren also abandoned ahead of day 3 due to a concussion.
"Michael Valgren fractured his right collarbone in his crash today at Tirreno-Adriatico," read a social media post from his team.
"Collarbone 1, Michael 0," said the Dane on his Instagram story, pictured in a sling after the stage.
A former winner of the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad in 2018, Valgren will now likely miss out on the cobbled Flemish Classics that kick off fully at the E3 Saxo Classic on March 28 and run through to the Tour of Flanders, where he's finished fourth in the past, on April 6.
Valgren could still make it back in time for the hilly Ardennes Classics that start with another race he's won in the past, Amstel Gold Race, on April 20.
Having shown signs of his previous best three years after his near career-ending crash at La Route d'Occitanie in 2022, Valgren would be one of EF's co-leaders if he returns in time, alongside Ben Healy, who also finished in the top ten of Strade Bianche.
A former teammate of Valgren's, Alberto Bettiol (XDS-Astana), has also abandoned Tirreno-Adriatico due to illness, needing time to return to top shape ahead of the Spring Classics.
"Today we start [with] six. Alberto Bettiol felt ill recently and after yesterday’s stage had a fever," said the Italian rider's team on X. "It was decided to let him recover fully for the upcoming classics."
Should he recover in time, Bettiol will lead XDS Astana at the Classics, starting with Milan-San Remo on Saturday before heading to the cobbled races in Belgium as a former winner of the Tour of Flanders.
Of the 168 starters at the Race of the Two Seas, there are only 158 remaining mid-way through the third stage, with David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) abandoning after crashing and injuring his elbow yesterday, and Robbe Ghys (Alpecin-Deceuninck) not starting stage 3 due to "personal reasons related to his wife's pregnancy".
