Alpecin–Premier Tech lose in-form Uhlig for a while after hard crash in Catalonia

He was very much in form, too. Uhlig had already won a stage at the Star of Bessèges in February, and although a stomach virus forced him out on day 1 of the Volta ao Algarve, he bounced back strongly afterwards.

He sprinted to fourth place from the bunch in Grand Prix de Denain, then did a huge amount of work for Gerben Thijssen’s sprint in Bredene-Koksijde. In Catalonia, Uhlig was again given his own chance, and on the tough uphill finish of stage 1 he immediately delivered with eighth place.

Alpecin-Premier Tech and Uhlig had also been in contention for the win on the second day, but things went wrong in the final stretch as the peloton hurtled down a technical descent. Suddenly, Uhlig was on the ground amid the surging pack, and it was immediately clear he couldn’t continue.

The cheerful, mustachioed speedster sat down on the curb and was actually hoisted into an ambulance within minutes. The diagnosis was apparently made quickly and was shared by the victim himself that evening: ‘I broke my collarbone—it could have been worse!’

It remains to be seen when we’ll see Uhlig back in action. Last season, he was primarily used as a lead-out man in the semi-climbing classics during the spring. After the summer, however, he also showed that he might have a future in the Flemish classics and on the cobbles.

In any case, Alpecin-Premier Tech will have to make do without Uhlig in Catalonia, as he was used as the team leader during the first three days. “Mixed emotions,” the Belgian team concluded, because Francesco Busatto, serving as Plan B in Stage 2, still managed to finish third in the sprint.