"How quickly you have to say goodbye to your sacrifices" - Alberto Contador empathises with Wout van Aert
Cycling
Wout van Aert has made no secret about the fact he was targeting the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix this spring. Sadly for the Belgian, those goals went up in smoke on Wednesday afternoon.
Going down hard at Dwars Door Vlaanderen, van Aert suffered a broken collarbone and broken ribs. "Just a very deep bow to our Wout, who has made all kinds of sacrifices over the past few months to be at his best in the spring classics. The shape was there, but unfortunately luck was not on his side," posted Team Visma | Lease a Bike. "Cycling is a wonderful sport. But at the same time, top sport is also so ruthless."
Having sacrificed so much for in his attempts to target the Spring Classic, this news is a bitter blow for van Aert. Alberto Contador, someone who's no stranger to adversity himself, can empathise with the Belgian superstar.
"How hard cycling is, not because of the sacrifices you have to make to get to your goal in top form, but because of how quickly you often have to say goodbye to them," the Spaniard writes on his official X (Twitter) account. "A speedy recovery to all of you."
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Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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leedorney29-03-20245
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parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
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Que duro es el ciclismo y no por los sacrificios que hay que hacer para llegar en plena forma al objetivo, si no por lo rápido que muchas veces toca decirle adiós a estos. Pronta recuperación a todos.
#DVV24 🇧🇪. Wout van Aert 🇧🇪 abandona A Través de Flandes en camilla tras la dura caída que ha afectado a una decena de ciclistas. También abandonan Biniam Girmay, Jasper Stuyven y Michele Gazzoli.
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