Mathieu van der Poel, Tim Wellens and John Degenkolb crash in men's Tour of Flanders

Alpecin-Deceuninck's Dutch rider Mathieu van der Poel reacts prior to the start of the men's race of the Tour of Flanders one day cycling race, 268,9 km from Brugge to Oudenaarde, on April 6, 2025. (Photo by DIRK WAEM / Belga / AFP) / Belgium OUT
Mathieu van der Poel was involved in a crash halfway through the men's Tour of Flanders (Image credit: Getty Images)

Defending champion Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) is back up and riding after being involved in a big crash at the Tour of Flanders with 126km to go.

Van der Poel was riding towards the back of the peloton with most of his Alpecin-Deceuninck teammates on the approach to the Eikenberg when a crash on the left-hand side of the peloton rippled back through the group and took down several riders, including the former world champion.

James Moultrie
News Writer

James Moultrie is a gold-standard NCTJ journalist who joined Cyclingnews as a News Writer in 2023 after originally contributing as a freelancer for eight months, during which time he also wrote for Eurosport, Rouleur and Cycling Weekly. Prior to joining the team he reported on races such as Paris-Roubaix and the Giro d’Italia Donne for Eurosport and has interviewed some of the sport’s top riders in Chloé Dygert, Lizzie Deignan and Wout van Aert. Outside of cycling, he spends the majority of his time watching other sports – rugby, football, cricket, and American Football to name a few.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.