Pogacar 'happy to be alive' after 'scary' crash

Five-time Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar says he is "just happy to be alive", two months after suffering three fractured vertebrae in a crash.

The 28-year-old Slovenian was ruled out for the season after crashing during the Vuelta a Espana in August.

Pogacar required surgery on a broken collarbone and was initially diagnosed with a fracture in his neck, but further scans in his home country revealed more injuries.

"I knew I had a C7 fracture, but then we saw I had two more broken vertebrae, the T1 and T2," Pogacar told The Athletic, external.

"At that moment, I was happy I didn't do the European Championships, which had been my initial goal. When I saw I had three broken vertebrae?