Update Wout van Aert Wout van Aert had a successful operation today. Examination revealed that he suffered a broken sternum, broken collarbone and several broken ribs. It is unclear when Wout will be able to get back on his bike. The next few weeks will be all about his…
"There are no certainties in life, we see that again" - Tom Boonen on Wout van Aert's spring-ending crash
CyclingFriday, 29 March 2024 at 12:34
Without a doubt, Wout van Aert's crash at Dwars door Vlaanderen has been the most marking event of the week in the cycling world. Although the Tour of Flanders is only days away, a lot of the attention remains on the Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider, and others who have gone down with him such as Mads Pedersen who is still in doubt for the classic.
"That just happens, it's the race. There are no certainties in life, we see that again. You can do everything as it should be for six months, but then you still have no certainty," Tom Boonen said in the Wielerclub Wattage. "That has now become painfully clear once again. It really is a blow to the table. These are dangerous races, but it can happen anywhere. There are thirty or forty similar situations... wherever you ride at speed with a pack of riders, it remains dangerous."
Boonen is one of the most experienced voices out there when it comes to this type of race and he too, despite having an extraordinary palmarès, has had to skip races in his time including both monuments due to injuries. It is always a difficult experience specially as riders prepare throughout the winter and spring to be at their best level for these specific days; and Boonen believes that after so much dedication, van Aert has every reason to not be happy in the coming period of time.
"We have to leave him alone, he's not going to be in a good mood. Those are not the nicest times... you are in the hospital and there are twenty photographers waiting outside. We better leave him," he advises. "I also feel sorry for Mathieu Van der Poel. After last weekend I thought we would have a tough race. Everyone always grows a little towards De Ronde and Lidl-Trek had a strong team. Now we will have a completely different race. The pressure is entirely on Alpecin-Deceuninck and the racing will start early."
Although the Belgian legend believes more pressure will be on Alpecin, it is quite likely that van der Poel himself will have an easier task as both Team Visma | Lease a Bike and Lidl-Trek's blocks have been seriously damaged over the past few weeks with illnesses and injuries. Visma most likely will rely on a sole leader Matteo Jorgenson, instead of having numbers as their main card.
"The Ronde is perhaps the most important race of the year, one of the most important. That's what you live for and everything has been for Jan Joker, you feel that at that moment," Niki Terpstra added. "That's not true, but that's how it feels. A depressed feeling. Serve time and watch the race with pain in the heart, that's what you can do."
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- Obviously there is the question of enormous willpower but some injuries are extremely specific. A torn meniscus for example can function pretty well during cycling whilst making it close to impossible to go up or down stairs or walk normally.Mistermaumau24-11-2024
- First of all, I hope now all is ok with your baby!. Yeah, about to not accept foreign phone number is a big problem also for me. I have economic interests in 2 countries, I think that all can be ok with my Italian number... but NO! The world is globalized but not for bureaucracies.
maria2024202424-11-2024 - First of all, calm, this is a site to share point of views, doubts, intuitions about cycling. Let's think about it: if someone tells you that he is very tired but is going to run unimportant races immediately, ignoring a world championship much further away in time that would give him the opportunity to rest, there is something very contradictory. Maybe it is fair, but as a simple spectator I (and many others) do not understand it, it does not make sense.maria2024202424-11-2024
- I think the other side has said plenty, given comments about her reputation like what Renz said above. Perhaps this is her chance to speak up against that reputation? I have no idea but her comments seem pretty human, even if each person has their own version of the story.RidesHills24-11-2024
- Give her a team built around her with no competing leaders, like Pogacar has at UAE or Vingegaard has at Visma (seeing how Roglic left), and I wonder how Vollering would do. She’s already so good, and a team dedicated to her could make her even better.RidesHills24-11-2024
- Those injuries, an ability to manage pain and push himself, probably a load of TUEs to help him get back from an awful moment, and competing that hard without the long exercise base that was the norm - no wonder he was exhausted. We’ve now had two consecutive seasons of the second place rider having an injury that interrupts training, and it shows to what level their bodies are tuned for the insane task of winning the Tour. I certainly hope both (and their teams!) are healthy next year. It would be a first, after 4 years.RidesHills24-11-2024
- Winners seem to be like this. Win or lose, it is always on to the next thing. They don’t celebrate the big win, they don’t worry about the painful loss. They move on. It’s an amazing skill. But to be able to ride (and win) while not being able to walk? That’s a level of pain management that boggles my mind. Of course they have it, given what they put their bodies through, but it’s just crazy.RidesHills24-11-2024
- Poor Demi. But she behaves the same way when riding for the national team. Bring me my tiny violin.Renz24-11-2024
- good pointsmij24-11-2024
- Yes, please tell us based on your superior expertise about why JVs training and race schedule is wrong 🧐Crashjames24-11-2024