Specialized just hit the first hurdle in any effort to repeat the team’s absolute dominance of the 2025 season. Victor Koretzky, the team’s Olympic silver medallist, shared that he broke his left humerus in a recent crash.
The French rider shared he’s already had surgery to repair the injury, complete with “titanium upgrades.” X-rays show what looks like a very painful break, going all the way through Koretzky’s arm.
While the Specialized veteran racer is on the mend, it could be a while before he is back on a start line. Koretzky confirmed he will miss the first two rounds of the 2026 XC World Cup season. Those are in South Korea and the classic Nove Mesto venue in Czechia.
Leogang would be the potential first round back. But Koretzky says after the first two races, “we’ll see how the rehab goes to plan my comeback.”
Koretzky’s injury comes after a stunning 2025 season, for him personally and for the Specialized team. The French rider won XCC world championships before finishing on the podium at XCO world championships. He won one XCC and one XCO World Cup and add four more World Cup podiums over the course of the season.
Whistler’s in, Mont-Sainte-Anne’s out: 2026 UCI MTB World Cup leaves Eastern Canada behind
All that while his teammate, Christopher Blevins, won both the XCC and XCO overall titles. Blevins is the first U.S. rider to win a elite men’s World Cup overall title in 30 years. With Martin Vidaurre, Specialized swept a World Cup podium in Brazil and earned a few more World Cup wins. Adrien Boichis added a few more podiums of his own.
While the women’s side didn’t have quite the same success, Laura Stigger and Sina Frei landed numerous top-10 finishes while Haley Batten spent a good portion of the year on the injured list, it was hardly a bad year either.
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Canadian Cycling Magazine…