A series of falls on run to line leaves some finishing in ripped up kit and covered with wounds as others have to abandon injured
Piet Allegaert and Milan Fretin of Cofidis were involved in one of the earlier crashes(Image credit: Getty Images)
Multiple crashes in the final kilometres of the men’s Classic Brugge-De Panne on Wednesday took a significant toll, with several teams delivering updates on rider injuries into the evening.
Lotto riders Jasper De Buyst and Lionel Taminiaux were caught up, with the latter coming out of the day worse, having suffered a collapsed lung.
“In one of the crashes today in Brugge-De Panne, Jasper De Buyst and Lionel Taminiaux were involved,” said Lotto on social media. “Jasper mainly suffered abrasions from his crash. Lionel is worse off – he has a collapsed lung and a broken rib and will spend the night in the hospital.”
Cofidis riders Damien Touzé, Milan Fretin and Piet Allegaert also fell in one of the earlier crashes. Fretin's and Allegaert's wounds were clearly visible with their kits ripped, but the trio of Cofidis riders were among those who eventually made it over the line.
So did Edward Theuns, who last week won at Bredene Koksijde Classic. Lidl-Trek said that further examinations would reveal the extent of his injuries. The rider, who is scheduled to race Gent-Wevelgem this weekend, delivered an update on social media.
"Nothing broken (I think), but a lot of wounds," said Theuns. "Let's try to heal well and see what the coming days will bring…"
Edward Theuns (Lidl-Trek) after crossing the line at Classic Brugge-De Panne (Image credit: Getty Images)
One of the favourites, Tim Merlier (Soudal-Quickstep), didn't make the finish. The European champion got through the earlier crashes and looked like he could challenge in the reduced group sprint, but ultimately, a nasty fall at a split in the road at just over 1km to go brought him down, along with several others.
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"Following the crash, Tim suffered abrasions to his right leg and arm, and a small open wound under the right knee, which required stitching," said Soudal-Quickstep. "He will now take some rest this evening, after which his participation in the future races will be decided."
Gent-Wevelgem was penned in as the next race up for Merlier, with the Tour of Flanders also on the schedule ahead of Scheldeprijs and Paris-Roubaix.
It was a tough day out for Huub Artz (Intermarché-Wanty), too. The 22-year-old was racing his first WorldTour event but ended his day in hospital for checks along with teammate Gerben Thijssen, who at least rode through to finish after getting caught in the carnage.
Visma-Lease a Bike's Olav Kooij also hit the ground, but according to his team, "the damage seems to be limited to abrasions".
"There are still some big goals ahead for him, so we’ll have to see how he recovers from this crash,” said team directeur sportif Grischa Niermann.
Simone is a degree-qualified journalist that has accumulated decades of wide-ranging experience while working across a variety of leading media organisations. She joined Cyclingnews as a Production Editor at the start of the 2021 season and has now moved into the role of Australia Editor. Previously she worked as a freelance writer, Australian Editor at Ella CyclingTips and as a correspondent for Reuters and Bloomberg. Cycling was initially purely a leisure pursuit for Simone, who started out as a business journalist, but in 2015 her career focus also shifted to the sport.
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