Cycling
Pedersen in Flanders, van Aert operated
Wout Van Aert underwent surgery after a mass fall. photo
© Thibault Camus/AP/dpa
Four professional cyclists from the Tour of Flanders favorites were involved in a serious crash on Wednesday. Two of them miss the race, one is still hoping.
After the disastrous mass fall in the cycling semi-classic Across Flanders, co-favorite and former world champion is planning Mads Pedersen took part in the Tour of Flanders. His team Lidl-Trek announced that the 28-year-old should start at “De Ronde” on Sunday. However, his health will be closely monitored until then.
Pedersen suffered bruises and abrasions in the high-speed crash on Wednesday and had to withdraw from the race. Wout van Aert and Jasper Stuyven, who were also among the favorites on Sunday, were involved in the crash. The two Belgians have already been operated on in the Herentals hospital and will be out for several weeks.
Van Aert suffered a broken collarbone and several broken ribs. His Visma-Lease a bike team confirmed that the 29-year-old had also broken his sternum. His planned participation in the Giro d’Italia in May is unclear. “We will decide this in the coming weeks based on his recovery progress,” the team said. It would be possible that van Aert would change his mind and still take part in the Tour de France.
Stuyven, second in the Ronde dress rehearsal E3 prize, was diagnosed with a broken collarbone. The Luxembourg champion, who also belongs to the Lidl-Trek team, broke a metacarpal bone and also underwent surgery. The all-clear was given by Eritrean Biniam Girmay from his team Intermaché-Wanty. The 23-year-old escaped without any broken bones and is expected to take part in the Tour of Flanders.