Fans on the roadside show support for absent Wout van Aert at the Tour of Flanders

Wout van Aert was expected to be playing a major role at the Tour of Flanders this Easter Sunday. Sadly after a nasty crash earlier in the week, the Belgian is a notable absentee.

In the traditional warm-up race for the Tour of Flanders, Dwars Door Vlaanderen, van Aert hit the deck incredibly hard, breaking his collarbone and a number of ribs and suffering various scrapes and bruises also. Sadly, that means he's not fit enough to challenge the likes of his big rival, Mathieu van der Poel this Easter Sunday.

A hero to the Belgian cycling fans though, van Aert has not been forgotten by the fans at the roadside, with a number of signs of support shown for the Team Visma | Lease a Bike leader, including the one shown below, captured by Eurosport's TV cameras.