The news that emerged from the medical examinations that Warren Barguil underwent in recent hours following the crash that prematurely ended his Tour des Alpes-Maritimes is not good. The thirty-four-year-old Frenchman, in his third engagement of 2026 after Figueira Classic and Classic Var, has been diagnosed with a collarbone fracture and will now be forced into a period of rest and rehabilitation before he can return to racing on the road.

For Team Picnic PostNL, one of two WorldTour squads still sitting at zero wins and zero podium finishes this season, the absence of the polka dot jersey wearer from the 2017 Tour de France is added to those of the long-term injured Nils Eekhoff, who underwent surgery in January on his iliac artery and is likely sidelined until May, and Gijs Leemreize, who is also out, like Barguil, due to a collarbone fracture sustained after being hit by a car during the final day of the high-altitude training camp in Tenerife.

In total, therefore, in the coming weeks, the Dutch team will have two climbers out of action, a situation that does not ease the hunt for the first success of 2026 for Iwan Spekenbrink's men who, with three riders sidelined out of twenty-eight on the roster this year, will need to pull together to overcome what has been a rather difficult start to the season so far.