Wout van Aert Will “Definitely Miss” Flanders and Roubaix After Crash
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Wout van Aert will be out for the forseeable future after breaking his collarbone and several ribs during Wednesday’s Dwars door Vlaanderen, his team, Visma-Lease a Bike, said.
“Unfortunately, Wout van Aert suffered several fractures in the crash at Dwars door Vlaanderen today,” the team announced in a tweet. “A broken collarbone and several broken ribs were diagnosed in hospital. It is unclear how long his recovery will take.”
The team did say he will definitely miss Sunday’s Tour of Flanders, in addtion to Paris-Roubaix on April 7 and the Amstel Gold Race on April 14.
It was the first time van Aert was racing Dwars door Vlaanderen since 2018—a change to his usual Classics build-up to the Tour of Flanders. He came in as the race favorite, but fate had other plans for the Belgian phenom.
With about 67 km left of the race, a massive crash claimed a few favorites, including Van Aert, Biniam Girmay (Intermarché–Wanty), Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), and Jasper Stuyven (Lidl-Trek).
With the race now blown apart and groups of riders all over the roads, further back, along with other riders, Van Aert was seen sitting on the road with a ripped jersey but unable to get on his feet several minutes after the incident. He then abandoned the race on a stretcher.
Girmay and Stuyven, who was seen in agony holding his left collarbone, also abandoned the race.
What happened before the crash
The 188.6-kilometer race began with a flurry of attacks, but the peloton denied any breakaway attempts an early advantage. Eventually, a group consisting of Dries De Pooter, Casper Pedersen, Mathias Norsgaard, Dries De Bondt, Thomas Gachignard, Jonas Abrahamsen, Pascal Eenkhoorn, Amund Grøndahl Jansen, and Donovan Grondin got away.
As the peloton scrambled to take control of the race, a horrific crash occurred around the 60-kilometer mark. Van Aert, who is usually an expert on the cobbles, found himself sprawled amidst the debris—dreams of victory shattered.
After the incident, two chase groups formed. The first one made up of Matteo Jorgenson (TVL), Tiesj Benoot (TVL), Alberto Bettiol (EFE), Michael Valgren (EFE), Stefan Kung (GFC), Josh Tarling (IGD), Victor Vercouillie (TFB), and Donovan Grondin (ARK).
The second chase group contained Michael Matthews (JAY), Jasper Philipsen (ADC), Valentin Madouas (GFC), Jonathan Milan (LTK), and several other riders.
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