Nasty injury forces Kuypers to end his cyclo-cross season already: "I need to focus on the road season"

This marks another early end to his season. At the start of the year, Kuypers had already been forced to cut his season short due to health problems. Luck has not been on the side of the 24-year-old Belgian over the past two years.

“Gerben Kuypers sustained a fracture to his left collarbone during his fall at the World Cup in Namur and underwent surgery that same evening,” team doctor Gerald Ackerl explained in a press release. “After a successful operation, he is feeling well and was discharged from Herentals Hospital on Monday. He will rest for one week and can then gradually start training on the rollers again. Unfortunately, this means he has to end his cyclo-cross season with Charles Liégeois Roastery CX, but we expect him to be fully recovered for the next training camp in January with the WorldTour team in Alicante.”

Kuypers also reflected on the difficult day. “After the collective training camp with Intermarché-Wanty in Alicante, I felt good going into Namur, an important race for our Walloon sponsor Charles Liégeois Roastery. My strong start confirmed that feeling. I was battling for a podium place alongside Kevin Kuhn until I crashed halfway through the race. My sports director Bart Wellens immediately took me to the AZ Herentals hospital, where, thanks to excellent medical support from Intermarché-Wanty, I was able to undergo surgery just four hours after the fall. Everything went well, and I had a calm night, which is the first step toward my recovery.”

Kuypers acknowledges that this is another major setback following a disrupted winter last year but remains optimistic. “I want to put this into perspective and shift my focus to my road season with the WorldTour team, where I have high ambitions,” he concludes.