Injury update: Good news for Ryan and Blackmore, bad news for Küng and Asgreen

Two days ago, EF Education-EasyPost were still celebrating a huge Giro d’Italia party after the brilliant win in stage 17. Elsewhere, though, the team infirmary is rather full. Kasper Asgreen crashed hard and will be sidelined for a while. Archie Ryan can, after an operation, finally look ahead to positive developments. The same applies to NSN’s Joe Blackmore and Tudor leader Stefan Küng.

Ryan arrived from Visma | Lease a Bike in 2024 as a major talent. He has not yet fully lived up to those expectations, partly because of injuries. Last year he finally started posting good results again, but knee problems kept flaring up. After an examination, he had to undergo surgery for plica syndrome, a condition involving inflammation in part of the knee joint.

So the Irish climber had surgery on both knees. “This is probably what caused all my injuries in the past,” he said in a press release. “That is the light at the end of the tunnel. Hopefully, once this is over, I will not have any more problems. At the moment things are going well, so hopefully I can close this chapter of knee problems and get back to riding.”

He was operated on in February, after which recovery was slow. He can now ride outside again. “Being able to ride outside was great, and the fact that I could do it without problems and with the confidence that things are heading in the right direction is hugely reassuring. It makes me very eager for what is coming. I cannot wait to pin on a number.”

When he returns remains a mystery, but it will only be in the autumn. “They do not want to put pressure on me. Once I have had a serious block of training behind me and I am ready to race, they will call me. Racing in August is realistic. Whether that means a few stage races before the World Championships and the Italian block, or the Vuelta, the Worlds and racing in Italy, something like that would be nice. That gets me out of bed in the morning. But I say yes to everything. I just want to race again.”

While Ryan is slowly getting better, things are going in the opposite direction for Asgreen. He crashed in the Four Days of Dunkirk and had to abandon. It later emerged that he had broken his collarbone, his team said on X. The break was severe enough for surgery to be required. Under normal circumstances, the Dane would have ridden the Tour de France. Whether he will make it there is now uncertain.

NSN also shared injury news. Joe Blackmore would normally have been one of the Swiss team’s key spring riders, especially in the Ardennes Classics. But the young Brit has not raced at all this year. Like Ryan, he was dealing with knee problems. When there was no improvement, further tests were carried out.

The result? Blackmore is dealing with exactly the same issue as Ryan. The 2024 Tour de l’Avenir winner therefore also had to undergo surgery. Now that the procedure on his right knee has gone well, NSN hope Blackmore will recover quickly and race again later this year.