The 2026 Season Has Been Defined by Cruel Crashes and Mystery Viruses. Here's

The training plans and racing schedules of some of the peloton’s biggest stars have been hastily rewritten after one of the most hazardous starts to the season in memory.

Brutal crashes, bizarre training incidents, and a brace of bounding kangaroos hit the peloton hard. Innocuous winter sicknesses and niggles just wouldn’t quit.

If there’s ever been an argument for keeping riders cocooned on indoor trainers rather than sending them to altitude camps and tune-up races, it’s the opening of 2026.

Jonas Vingegaard, Mads Pedersen, Wout van Aert, Olav Kooij, and Tim Merlier are among those filling out an alarmingly busy February infirmary.

And their falls, fractures, and foul health could impact the whole season going forward.

Here’s what’s happened to who, and what it might mean:

Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek)

What happened? Broke wrist and collarbone in a crash during stage 1 of Volta Comunitat Valenciana.

Prognosis: Pedersen is back on the bike and pedaling on the trainer with his plastered wrist resting on some boxes. But his recovery timelines and racing schedule remain unknown.

Impact: It’s a heartbreaker.

Pedersen – the one rider who threatened Tadej Pogačar and Mathieu van der Poel last year on the cobbles – is off the back before spring has even started.

Lidl-Trek hasn’t confirmed Pedersen’s new schedule, but his originally planned start at Milan-San Remo on March 21 is surely at question.

Pedersen’s crash was eight weeks out from his six-star races, Flanders and Roubaix. So he could be back racing ahead of the April “Holy Week.”

But what version of Big Mads will show up to the cobblestone double-header?

The 30-year-old can “do a Hayman” and maintain form on the indoor trainer before he builds further on smooth tarmac. Taking his recently shattered wrist over the bone-jarring pavé of the European north is another matter.

Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike)

What happened? Crash and sickness drew a line through season debut at the UAE Tour.

Prognosis: Visma management suggested this was a minor setback for Vingegaard, but the team wouldn’t commit to when he will next race. Per the Dane’s original schedule, that should be the Volta a Catalunya in March.

Impact: Not ideal.

Visma-Lease a Bike will have dialed Vingegaard’s path toward his debut at the Giro d’Italia to the nearest pedal-stroke. Setbacks before the Giro could also ripple through to the next round of Vingegaard’s prizefight with Tadej Pogačar at the Tour de France.

The shock exit from team Visma of Vingegaard’s long-time coach Tim Heemskerk further complicates the tricky process of reworking Vingegaard’s roadmap to the grand tours.

If Vingegaard gets healthy fast, he should be able to replicate the load of the UAE Tour in a block of hard training.

But after crashing in the Basque Country in April 2024 and losing time to concussion in March 2025, Vingegaard has got to be wondering when he can catch an early-season break.

Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike)

What happened? Fractured ankle on January 2 after snowy slide at cyclocross Mol.

Prognosis: Van Aert has been back training for multiple weeks and is reportedly able to do all his intervals except full-steam sprints. He’s planning to debut 2026 at Omloop Nieuwsblad later this month, but has cautioned he won’t be competitive.

Impact: As with Vingegaard, any setback is far from ideal when the biggest goals for the season involve taking down Tadej Pogačar.

Van Aert is deep into his recovery and rebuild, and noises out of team Visma indicate the beloved Belgian is progressing well.

But is Wout ready to take down King Pog and Monument Master MVDP at the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix? Van Aert will need to come at the two toppers 200 percent fit if they’re as strong as they were last spring.

The monument monkey on Van Aert’s back got even harder to shake when he crashed before the road season had even begun.

Jay Vine: (UAE Emirates-XRG)

What happened? Broke scaphoid bone in wrist during kangaroo collision at Tour Down Under.

Prognosis: Vine scrapped his plan to race the UAE Tour but is already back on the bike. The Aussie climber uploaded two steady indoor trainer rides to Zwift last weekend, just 10 days after he received surgery.

Impact: Should be minor, but with a caveat.

Vine’s first target for the year is three months away at the Giro d’Italia. The world-leading climber is slated to play MVP for João Almeida in UAE Emirates-XRG’s pink jersey brawl with Jonas Vingegaard and Visma-Lease a Bike.

However, scaphoid injuries are notoriously problematic, and Vine’s injury was described by team medics as “significant.” Vine’s form at the Giro could depend on how quickly that bone is ready for the pressure of riding outdoors.

Jhonatan Narváez (UAE Emirates-XRG)

What happened? Sustained multiple thoracic vertebrae fractures in crash at Tour Down Under.

Prognosis: Velo reached out to UAE Emirates-XRG on Tuesday for an update on the Ecuadorian’s recovery, but is yet to hear back.

However, having sustained such a brutal injury just five weeks before Omloop Nieuwsblad, Naraváez’s planned start at the “Opening Weekend” is surely compromised. His ability to support Tadej Pogačar at Milan-San Remo two weeks later will also be at threat.

Impact: It’s hard to say how significant this will be for Naraváez and his team without further news on his condition.

However, Narváez was crucial to Pogačar’s assault on the Cipressa last year when the Slovenian tried to re-write the script of Milan-San Remo.

UAE Emirates-XRG has plenty of firepower to replace Narváez in Pogi’s San Remo train if necessary, but the 28-year-old’s explosivity and racing savvy will be missed.

Sepp Kuss (Visma-Lease a Bike)

What happened? Out of Tour of Oman with stomach complaints.

Prognosis: Kuss should be back fit and racing within days. Unless there are underlying or unrevealed issues, the 31-year-old should be able to pick up his planned schedule next month at the Volta a Catalunya.

Impact: Minimal. Kuss only missed three days of racing, and his first major goal of the year supporting Jonas Vingegaard at the Giro d’Italia is still three months away.

Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step)

What happened? Persistent and undiagnosed knee pain since December. Missed significant blocks of training and canceled multiple early-season races, including the upcoming “Opening Weekend” of the classics.

Prognosis: Quick-Step indicated its star sprinter won’t be back racing until mid- or late-March. His planned start at Gent-Wevelgem – where he should be considered a favourite if he’s fit – could still be on the cards.

Impact: The fastest finisher of 2025 has hit a severe headwind.

Merlier hasn’t raced since October, and his winter training has been torpedoed.

All those missed miles will count when the Belgian is dragging his burly frame over the mountains of the Tour de France. The lack of a solid base could also blunt the speed he needs to outkick Jasper Philipsen and Jonathan Milan in the fastest finishes of summer.

Quick-Step will need Merlier to get healthy, fast. He’s the squad’s prize asset now that Remco Evenepoel is gone.

Olav Kooij (Decathlon CMA CGM)

What happened? Contracted a virus in January and still hasn’t raced for his new team, Decathlon CMA CGM.

Prognosis: Unknown. Velo reached out to team Decathlon on Tuesday for news and was only told “there is no update at the moment.”

Impact: It’s the worst start possible for Kooij and his new team.

Decathlon CMA CGM had bold plans for the 24-year-old after it lured him away from Visma-Lease a Bike with one of the biggest signings of the off-season. The lack of official updates on Kooij’s health is far from promising, and the team’s all new sprint train is stuck in the sidings.

Kooij’s planned charge on the classics is surely at question. His thoughts might now need to refocus on being healthy for the Tour de France.

Other notable riders on the sidelines:

• Cian Uijtdebroeks (Movistar): Fissured [cracked] elbow after crash at Communitat Valenciana
• Enric Mas (Movistar): Out of UAE Tour after receiving stitches in wrist following training crash
• Tobias Foss (Ineos Grenadiers): Broken shoulder blade after crash in Volta Comunitat Valenciana
• Mikkel Bjerg (UAE Emirates-XRG): Broken hand and shoulder after crash in Tour Down Under
• Vegard Stake Laengen (UAE Emirates-XRG): Rib injury after crash in Tour Down Under
• Bart Lemmen (Visma-Lease a Bike): Out of Tour of Oman with wrist injury following stage 4 crash
• Laurenz Rex (Soudal Quick-Step): Broken spine after horror 100kph crash in AlUla
• Jake Stewart (NSN): Fractured collarbone after crash in Tour Down Under