Mathieu van der Poel - Wout van Aert's crash is unfortunate for the Tour of Flanders

Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck)
Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) (Image credit: Getty Images)

Mathieu van der Poel's chances of winning a third Tour of Flanders undoubtedly increased with the devastating crash of Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease A Bike) in Dwars door Vlaanderen this week. But the Dutchman expressed his sympathy both for his Belgian rival and for Lidl-Trek, who lost Jasper Stuyven to a broken collarbone.

"[The crash] is particularly unfortunate for the Tour of Flanders, but even more for Wout and Jasper. You live for months towards those important two races and then, just a few days before, you are sidelined. You really don't wish that on anyone," Van der Poel said in pre-race comments sent to media by Alpecin-Deceuninck.

Laura Weislo
Managing Editor

Laura Weislo has been with Cyclingnews since 2006 after making a switch from a career in science. As Managing Editor, she coordinates coverage for North American events and global news. As former elite-level road racer who dabbled in cyclo-cross and track, Laura has a passion for all three disciplines. When not working she likes to go camping and explore lesser traveled roads, paths and gravel tracks. Laura specialises in covering doping, anti-doping, UCI governance and performing data analysis.