Nils Eekhoff concerned over the rest of his season after AlUla crash: "My jaw is dislocated which means I cannot close my jaws"

Nils Eekhoff didn't have particularly high goals coming into the AlUla Tour last week, but the heavy crash in the final of third stage will now take a toll on the rest of Eekhoff's season.

According to Eekhoff, the pain is bearable. "It feels like my teeth have just been pulled. I returned to the Netherlands last weekend and I will now discuss my options with an oral surgeon. I am not a medical specialist, but from what I understood in Saudi Arabia, it does not seem to be a major fracture. Only my jaw is dislocated, which means I cannot close my jaws. That is especially annoying," he confides about his condition to WielerFlits.

The rider who specializes in classics will be sidelined for next 6-8 weeks and will see his spring campaign in jeopardy for the umpteenth time since his professional debut in 2020. After his (revoked) victory at the 2019 World Championships in the under-23 category, the exepctations of Eekhoff at the classics were high, but so far it only clicked at smaller races like with his 3rd place Tro-Bro Leon in 2023 or 5th at Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne last year. 

You might think that you could maintain your cycling condition with a broken jaw, but Eekhoff explains that it's far more complicated than just about pedalling. "But food is really hard for me, I can only take in liquid food. So it is currently difficult to get enough food."

All in all, he got off relatively easy. Eekhoff had to swerve at full speed to avoid a falling rider next to him, after which the Team Picnic PostNL rider got stuck with his pedal on a slope and couldn't go anywhere. Suddenly there was a lamppost, which he crashed into. It looked very nasty on the video. "In addition to my broken jaw, I have a stitch in my chin and quite a few muscle bruises, but that's it. And also three molars and two teeth partially broken off."