Barguil breaks collarbone after tyre blowout, but injuries later turn out to be far more serious

In his third race of the year — after the Figueira Champions Classic and the Tour du Var — things went wrong for Barguil when his tyre reportedly blew out, sending him to the ground at speed. Early checks pointed to a fractured collarbone, but later scans revealed additional injuries.

Barguil did not “only” break his collarbone. He also suffered two broken ribs and a pelvic fracture, and was diagnosed with an extradural haematoma — bleeding between the skull and the outer covering of the brain. The situation was serious, but the Frenchman received swift treatment at the hospital in Nice.

Barguil remained in hospital for 48 hours for observation, but has since been allowed to return home. Exactly how long his recovery will take is still unclear, but it is obvious he will be out for considerably longer than first anticipated. The Frenchman said he was grateful for the many supportive messages he received — including from team-mates such as John Degenkolb, Max Poole and Frank van den Broek.

“Thank you for all your messages,” Barguil wrote on Instagram. “I’m not sad — you know me, I keep smiling. At that speed it could have been much worse.” Barguil admitted he does not yet know when he will be able to get back on the bike. “For now, I’ll support my team-mates from the couch!” Last season, Barguil extended his contract with Team Picnic PostNL through to the end of 2027.