Stuyven is also out for Ronde and Roubaix
Wout van Aertrt suffered multiple broken bones in the Dwars Door crash Photo: Cor Vos
March 27, 2024 | (rsn) – The Ronde van Vlaanderen will take place on Sunday without its great local hero Wout Van Aert (Visma – Lease a Bike). The 29-year-old Belgian was involved in a high-speed crash at Dwars door Vlaanderen on Wednesday and had to retire from the race injured. In an initial press release, his Dutch team announced that their superstar would be out for a few weeks.
Van Aert suffered several fractures in his fall, including a broken collarbone and seven broken ribs. This was the result of the initial diagnosis in the hospital. Later, Het Laatste Nieuws also reported a broken sternum. It is not yet known how long the Belgian will be out for, but his team has already made it clear that he will miss the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix and the Amstel Gold Race.
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He would have been one of the absolute top favorites in all three major one-day races. The Belgian had also set his sights on the Giro d’Italia in 2024, which starts in just over a month on May 4th. This operation will also be at risk given the serious injuries.
The accident happened at 80 km/h down the mountain, as Nils Politt (UAE Team Emirates), who was riding right next to van Aert, told radsport-news.com.
Unfortunately, van Aert got hung on the rear wheel of his team-mate Tiesj Benoot, as he sadly admitted at the finish. “Our plan was to attack in the Kanarieberg. Tim van Dijke did a great job on the climb,” explained Benoot. “When Tim went out of the lead, Wout yelled at me to accelerate, which I did. But I think he touched my back wheel as I stood up to accelerate. I actually feel really shitty about it.”
Also falling with van Aert were Jasper Stuyven (Lidl – Trek), who also broke his collarbone, and Biniam Girmay (Intermarche – Wanty), whose diagnosis is not yet available. All three were unable to continue the race, while Mads Petersen (Lidl – Trek), who also fell, initially continued riding but then had to get off his bike.
Update Wout van Aert:
Unfortunately, Wout van Aert suffered several fractures in the crash at Dwars door Vlaanderen today.
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…
— Team Visma | Lease a Bike (@vismaleaseabike) March 27, 2024