'It's a shame, those are the most important races of my season' – Maxim Van Gils watches Ardennes Classics from home as fractured pelvis rehab continues

UBEDA, SPAIN - FEBRUARY 16: Maxim Van Gils of Belgium and Team Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe competes during the 5th Clasica Jaen Paraiso Interior 2026 a 154.2km one day race from Ubeda to Ubeda on February 16, 2026 in Ubeda, Spain. (Photo by Dario Belingheri/Getty Images).

Maxim Van Gils is a notable absentee from the Ardennes Classics this week, the Belgian puncheur still recovering from a fractured pelvis and shoulder sustained in a crash at the Clásica Jaén in February.

Van Gils was one of the stars of the spring two years ago, taking podiums at Strade Bianche and La Flèche Wallonne, plus a fourth place at Liège-Bastogne-Liège and seventh at Milan-San Remo.