Wout van Aert breaks collarbone in Dwars door Vlaanderen horror crash, out of Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix
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Updated 27/03/2024 at 18:10 GMT
There was huge drama in the Dwars door Vlaanderen as several of the big hitters were involved in a "nightmarish" crash, including Wout van Aert (Visam-Lease-a-Bike), Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) and Biniam Girmay (Intermarche–Wanty). Van Aert required medical attention after hitting the deck and was forced to abandon the race. It was later confirmed he had broken his collarbone and "several ribs".
Wout van Aert
Image credit: Getty Images
Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease-a-Bike) will miss the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix after a heavy crash in the Dwars door Vlaanderen on Wednesday left him with a broken collarbone and "several broken ribs".
Several riders were forced to abandon the Men's race following the collision.
The incident happened with 60km to go, with a huge pile-up decimating the peloton, as many of those involved required medical treatment.
Van Aert was in distress on the road, with his jersey almost ripped completely from his grazed back, before being helped onto a stretcher.
"Unfortunately, Wout van Aert suffered several fractures in the crash at Dwars door Vlaanderen today," Visma-Lease-a-Bike said in a statement.
"A broken collarbone and several broken ribs were diagnosed in hospital. It is unclear how long his recovery will take.
"He will definitely miss the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix and the Amstel Gold Race. We wish Wout all the best and a speedy recovery!"
Aside from Van Aert, Alex Kirsch (Lidl-Trek), Jasper Stuyven (Lidl-Trek), Biniam Girmay (Intermarche–Wanty), Gianni Vermeersch (Alpecin–Deceuninck), Harry Sweeny (EF-Education) and Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) were also involved.
Girmay and Stuyven joined Van Aert in abandoning the race.
"This is absolutely nightmarish!" remarked Rob Hatch on commentary.
"This has been a huge swathe of the favourites who have been cut down, I’m afraid."
In a statement to Dutch newspaper HLN, Visma-Lease-a-Bike boss Merijn Zeeman said: "It was very intense and bad. Such a fall is terrible to see. When someone groans in pain like that, it is very intense."
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