Kwiatkowski medical update arrives: how are the other Sanremo DNFs doing?

Early in the race, crashes were already reported for Jan Christen and Orluis Aular. The Swiss rider of UAE Team Emirates-XRG and the Venezuelan of Movistar both went down at speed. In Aular’s case, the only detail made public was that he fell on his hip before abandoning. Christen was seen limping by the roadside. The fact that no official medical update has been issued for either rider is usually a sign that the injuries are not too serious.

UAE also lost Domen Novak before the finish, although his abandonment had more to do with the amount of work he had done on the front of the peloton heading into the decisive phase of the race. Two other riders were forced out by the crash on the left-hand side of the road, the incident that involved three INEOS Grenadiers riders and Marcel Camprubí of Pinarello-Q36.5.

For INEOS, Connor Swift and Ben Turner were able to continue, and both riders still managed to do useful work for Filippo Ganna on the approach to the Cipressa. Michal Kwiatkowski was the rider who came off worst in the moment itself, remaining on the kerb in obvious pain before being taken to hospital by ambulance. Fortunately, no fractures were found there. Kwiatkowski later summed it up himself on Instagram: “Bruised, not broken”

Camprubí, who had travelled to Milan-San Remo in support of Tom Pidcock, did not reach the finish either. The Spaniard did get back on his bike, but there was little point in continuing. Andrea Peron and David Lozano of Team Novo Nordisk also failed to make it to Sanremo after spending much of the day in the breakaway. In their case, it was simply a matter of empty legs after a long effort out front.

The women’s race also brought relatively reassuring news in medical terms. Only three major names were listed as DNFs, all of them after the same crash on the descent of the Cipressa. Kasia Niewiadoma of Canyon//SRAM escaped without fractures, while Debora Silvestri of Laboral Kutxa suffered five broken ribs and a microfracture in her shoulder after going over the barrier in a frightening crash. Justine Ghekiere of AG Insurance was due to undergo further examination on Sunday.