No broken bones, but Kwiatkowski shares grim images of heavy Milan-San Remo crash damage

There were more than enough crashes again in this year’s Milan-San Remo, especially in the women’s race. Debora Silvestri flew over the barriers on the descent of the Cipressa and broke five ribs. It looked even worse than that in the moment, and it will clearly be some time before the Italian is back racing. In the men’s race, Kwiatkowski was one of the main victims: with 60 kilometres to go, he hit the deck hard.

It looked serious, but the experienced Pole later delivered an update from hospital. “Bruised, but not broken,” he said. That was encouraging news, though the damage was still far from minor. “It was a rough morning getting out of bed, but I’m on the Côte d’Azur and I’m being really well looked after. I have plenty of road rash, my elbow took a hit and needed stitches, but nothing serious.”

His thigh appears to have taken the biggest blow. On Instagram, Kwiatkowski shared a photo of the side of his leg, which is still badly torn up. He also said he is unable to bend the leg because of the swelling. “Honestly, I have no idea how my thigh survived that impact... Maybe my short legs and a bit of muscle helped this time. Right now it feels like Thor smashed his hammer into my thigh.”

He then went into more detail about the condition of the leg. “My right thigh has suffered extensive muscle damage, with a massive swelling of 30 centimetres along a deep intramuscular bruise and a huge post-traumatic fluid build-up trapped inside the fascia, stretching up to 24 centimetres. I don’t know what a broken bone feels like, but this hurts unbelievably much.”

Normally, the Pole would be due to start the Tour of the Basque Country, which gets underway on April 6. Whether that race now comes too soon remains to be seen. The Ardennes Classics are a major target for the two-time Amstel Gold Race winner.