"Fortunately nothing broken" - Mathias Vacek requires stiches after crashing out of Strade Bianche 2025

Mathias Vacek was considered by some to be a dark horse contender for the podium at Strade Bianche 2025. Sadly for the Lidl-Trek star though, he couldn't even manage to finish the race after a crash resulted in the Czech requiring stitches.

Although the TV cameras didn't catch Vacek's crash, the 22-year-old took to his official Instagram account in the immediate aftermath to share a nasty image of his leg following the incident. "Not the best outcome today in Strade Bianche," begins the post-race assessment of Vacek honestly, detailing his injuries after clearly having undergone medical attention following his crash. "5 stitches in the knee but fortunately nothing broken."

Vacek wasn't the only casualty either, multiple-time Strade Bianche winner Michal Kwiatkowski also crashed out of contention this year, whilst even the eventual race winner Tadej Pogacar wasn't exempt from the drama, sliding out hard at 50km to go, before eventually remounting and managing to solo towards the line in his typically dominant style.