Maxim van Gils back to training after spending 1 month in crutches following Clásica Jaen Paraiso Interior crash

Maxim van Gils experienced a difficult 2025 season marked by inconsistencies but 2026 did not start off any better. Whilst the Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe rider managed to enter the season with good form, his season was cut in half on the third race day due to a crash at the Clásica Jaen Paraiso Interior involving Jan Christen. The Belgian is now eyeing a return to competition in June.

“I started cycling again. It’s step by step, and you can feel yourself improving every time," the Belgian said in a press release. This comes after weeks of evolution in his health status. Van Gils, third at the Trofeo Andratx and part of the winning TTT at the Trofeo Ses Salines back in January, was racing for a podium position at Jaen Paraiso Interior in the final sprint when Jan Christen collided with him, leading him to crash into the barriers.

The result was a pelvis fracture, a serious injury which required a few weeks of rest and about a month in crutches. Only five weeks after did van Gils return to the road, and has now almost put in a month of training with some more consistency. He hopes to race the GP Gippingen and Tour de Suisse by the time June comes around, with hopes of still taking part in the Tour de France where he was initially scheduled.

Van Gils was forced to miss the entire spring campaign where he would most likely be able to achieve his most prominent results, taking into consideration his abilities as a classics specialist. The men he faced that day in Spain however did not have much better luck either as winner Tim Wellens was sidelined for almost two months due to a collarbone fracture; Tom Pidcock is in doubt for the Ardennes after crashing out of the Volta a Catalunya; whilst Jan Christen also suffered a crash at Milano-Sanremo which saw him suffer a fractured collarbone and has taken him out of the Ardennes.