Belgian professional cyclist Wout van Aert was taken to hospital after a serious crash during the one-day race “Across Flanders” (Dwars door Vlaanderen). A teammate secured the victory.
The 29-year-old lost control of his bike at high speed on Wednesday (March 27, 2024). In total, around a dozen riders fell 68 kilometers from the finish in Waregem.
Van Aert’s yellow Visma jersey was almost completely torn and abrasions could be seen on his back. The Belgian screamed in pain as he was put on a stretcher and taken into an ambulance. According to an initial diagnosis, he suffered a broken collarbone and several broken ribs. “It is unclear how long the recovery will take. Van Aert will definitely miss the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix and the Amstel Gold Race,” his team said on Wednesday evening.
Other drivers affected
Other injured riders were the Eritrean Biniam Girmay and the Belgian Jasper Stuyven from Lidl-Trek, whose teammate Mads Pedersen from Denmark also fell. Van Aert’s teammate Matteo Jorgenson secured victory in Waregem. After 188.6 kilometers, the 24-year-old from the Visma-Lease a Bike team emerged from a breakaway group ahead of the Norwegian Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X) and the Swiss Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ).
Van Aert was one of the favorites for Sunday’s Tour of Flanders, which will bring up to 750,000 fans to Belgium’s biggest sporting event. The teammate of two-time Tour winner Jonas Vingegaard is experiencing a bitter start to the season. Last Friday he also crashed at the E3 Prize and later had to admit defeat to his long-term rival Mathieu van der Poel.
Mathieu van der Poel (l.) and Wout van Aert after the E3 award
