INEOS Grenadiers Michal Kwiatkowski has admitted that his Ardennes campaign didn't go the way he would have liked and the Polish rider has blamed a concussion he suffered in a Gent Wevelgem crash as the reason why.
"One of the most difficult Ardennes I ever did," the 32-year-old revealed in a post on his official Instagram account. "Tried to help the team as much as I could, but never really bounced back after the crash and concussion in Gent-Wevelgem. Time to refocus."
Since crashing out at Gent Wevelgem, Kwiatkowski has also failed to finish at both Brabantse Pijl and the more recent Liege-Bastogne-Liege. Alongside placings of 72nd at the Amstel Gold Race and 115th at La Fleche Wallone it's been a below-par April for the former world champion.
INEOS had previously denied that the Pole had suffered a concussion in his Gent Wevelgem crash but now Kwiatkowski has set the record straight and explained his poor form. Showing his class however, he concludes the post with a message of congratulations to riders one and two at Liege-Bastogne-Liege. "Hats off to Remco Evenepoel for another championship ride & our fighter Tom Pidcock."