Wednesday, March 27, 2024 at 3:16 PM
Breaking Wout van Aert and Mads Pedersen had a very serious crash in Dwars door Vlaanderen. At 67 kilometers from the finish they crashed on a wide track at high speed. A few days before the Tour of Flanders, this is a big blow for the two top favorites. Jasper Stuyven, Pedersen’s teammate at Lidl-Trek, was also involved in the crash. All three of them might not continue.
In addition to Van Aert, Pedersen and Stuyven, Biniam Girmay (leader of Intermarché-Wanty), Gianni Vermeersch (important adjutant Mathieu van der Poel at Alpecin-Deceuninck), Alex Kirsch (helper at Lidl-Trek), Harry Sweeny (EF Education-EasyPost), Michele Gazzoli (Astana Qazaqstan), Anthony Turgis (TotalEnergies) in the crash, which happened at high speed in a high-speed descent. A touch of a rear wheel or a small curb appears to have caused the crash.
The damage was immediately apparent. Van Aert was seriously grazed on the back, lay groaning in pain on the asphalt and cried tears. He therefore left the race and seemed to be able to put an end to his main goals: the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. Jasper Stuyven and Biniam Girmay also gave up immediately. Mads Pedersen got on the bike following an initial concussion check, but gave up shortly followingwards.
What a drama!
A big fall with, among others, Wout van Aert and Mads Pedersen in Dwars Door Vlaanderen. pic.twitter.com/LCs5gDaY5P
— WielerFlits.nl (@WielerFlits) March 27, 2024
