"It was a really ugly fall" - Matteo Jorgenson ensures Visma success at Dwars Door Vlaanderen after Wout van Aert crashes out

Although Matteo Jorgenson continued his excellent start to 2024, making history as the first American to win Dwars Door Vlaanderen, it was a somewhat mixed day for Team Visma | Lease a Bike with Wout van Aert leaving the race in an ambulance.

“It’s unbelievable. This whole season has been a dream so far," reflected Jorgenson, who also recently took overall victory at Paris-Nice in the opening few months of his Team Visma | Lease a Bike career. "It’s surreal, actually.”

When van Aert went down though, Jorgenson had a perfect view and the American could immediately tell things weren't looking good. “I was in Wout’s wheel just before the Kanarieberg, and it was just a racing incident,” he explains, with van Aert not the only favourite to crash hard as Mads Pedersen and Biniam Girmay also hit the deck.

"There were two trains, Trek and us, and we came together. It was a really ugly fall. I saw the whole thing and knew Wout would be out of the race," Jorgenson concludes. “Tiesj Benoot and I continued with the place, because it’s still a bike race, but my thoughts are with Wout and the other riders involved.”