'It could have been a lot worse' – track rider has 50cm wooden splinter surgically removed after crash

Teenage cyclist Moritz Mauss underwent emergency surgery last weekend to remove a 50cm wooden splinter from his hip after he crashed in an track event.

The incident happened at the International Belgian Track Meeting in Gent on Sunday, when Mauss was competing in the Madison.

Writing on Instagram afterwards, the 18-year-old German, who is part of UAE Team Emirates’ under-23 squad, said he came within centimetres of a “career-ending injury”.

“During my fall, I slid across the track, and a 50 cm long piece of wood splintered from the track and went directly through my hip and upper left leg,” Mauss wrote.

“I was taken directly to the hospital and had surgery only about two hours after the accident. Everything went smoothly, and I am already back home now.

“I got really lucky because the splinter missed my nerves and most of my leg muscles. I will be out for a while now, but it could have been A LOT worse. Only a few centimetres could have meant a career-ending injury.”

Mauss prefaced his post with "trigger warning", and said he initially hesitated to share images of the splinters online, but felt it important to “show these sides of the journey and the sport”.

“Among all the wonderful moments this year and everything this sport has already brought me, those low points are also part of it,” the teenager said.

“We have to accept what happened, and I will make the best of it. The work I have put in over the last few months is definitely not lost, and I am certain there is still a lot to come this season. Time to enjoy some unexpected days off the bike now

The velodrome at Gent’s Vlaams Wielercentrum Eddy Merckx (Flemish Cycling Center Eddy Merckx) is Olympic-sized 250m, made from hardwood, and is home to the Belgian Cycling Team.

The International Belgian Track Meeting is an annual Class 1 event that combines junior, under-23 and elite racing.

Mauss, a junior UCI Track World Championships medallist, competes in both track and road events, and rode the under-23 versions of Paris-Roubaix and Liège-Bastogne-Liège earlier this month. It is uncertain how long he will now be out of competition.