"I had to go without a bike for a good five weeks" - Maxim van Gils still experiencing pain after Jaen crash but hopes to make it to Tour de France team alongside Evenepoel

Maxim van Gils had a difficult 2025 season but 2026 only got off to a worst start. As it stands, the Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe rider only completed two race days going into May, and will at best return to competition in June. Still, he hopes to make it to the Tour de France alongside the German team, Remco Evenepoel and Florian Lipowitz.

“Things are going well. I’ve been cycling outdoors again since the end of March. But I still have a lot of catching up to do. I had to go without a bike for a good five weeks; that’s like starting to cycle again in November," van Gils said in words to Het Nieuwsblad. It was back to square one for the Belgian after a very positive two days in Mallorca where he helped the team to win the Trofeo Ses Salines TTT and then finished third on the Trofeo Andratx.

However at the Clásica Jaén Paraiso Interior, whilst he was sprinting against Tom Pidcock and Jan Christen for second place, the Swiss rider closed the gap and van Gils crashed into the barriers. This led to a pelvis fracture which required him to spend significant time in a wheelchair and having to re-learn how to walk.

He got back to the bike in March but he is beginning from an absolute pause, meaning he requires months of preparation to be competitive again. “The hardest moment actually only came when I started cycling again. Because then I was confronted with the work I still had to do," he admits.

Currently, he is able to increase the intensity to a moderate level, but it is not yet enough for the level he requires. "If I train for longer than four hours now, I’m absolutely exhausted. But it is getting better step by step. My pelvis actually doesn’t bother me anymore. Only my shoulder still aches a bit when I cycle for a long time," he shares however.

The pain from the shoulder and the lack of form mean that he has a very difficult task ahead still to regain his best form. “The plan is to join the team training camp in the Sierra Nevada in early May (where Evenepoel and Lipowitz should be, ed.). But to be able to keep up there, I still need to take a few steps. We’ll see how it evolves. Fortunately, there is still more to come.”

He has lost the spring classics where he was meant to have his opportunities to be a leader and chase his own results, but he adds that he is focused on the bigger picture. “I felt like I wasn’t making any progress, whereas I’m used to flying around at this time of year. The weeks before that actually went by super fast, in my opinion. I wasn’t bored for a single moment.”

He was initially ruled to race the Tour de Suisse but the plans may change taking into consideration his health status. Van Gils was one of the few men outlined at the start of the year to race the Tour de France with the two GC leaders.

Now he might join them too at the Tour Auverge - Rhône Alpes. “We still have to decide that, but I hope for the Dauphiné in June.”