Days after the race, Kwiatkowski posted an update for his followers from the Cote d’Azur, where he is recovering. The news could have been much worse. “Quite a lot of road rash, the elbow took a hit and needed a few stitches, but nothing too serious. CT scan came back clear and X-rays of the thigh and elbow look good,” he wrote on Instagram.
The main concern is a significant hematoma. “The biggest issue right now is a massive hematoma on my thigh. It’s really swollen and I can’t bend the leg at the moment, so we’ll see how it develops over the next few days,” he explained.
As for his femur somehow coming through the impact intact, even Kwiatkowski himself cannot quite explain it. “Honestly, no idea how the femur survived that impact… maybe short legs and a bit of muscle helped this time. Right now it just feels like Thor smashed my thigh with his hammer.”
With his leg currently immobilized by the swelling, the INEOS Grenadiers medical team will monitor the hematoma. The coming days will determine how quickly he can return to racing.