"There are no certainties in life, we see that again" - Tom Boonen on Wout van Aert's spring-ending crash
Cycling
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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Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- What a race! I didn't expect Vanthourenhout to collapse like that, and Wyseure did take the fight to Nys, but there was no doubt at the end. I also wonder what Aubin Sparfel would be capable of were he to race in the elites now. In the U23 ranks he is making good work of Giel Lejeune, who himself is among the better riders in the elites, and a top 10 contender in the big races (3rd at Kleebergcross, 8th at Berencross and 5th at Heerderstrand). In the French Cup, Sparfel is significantly better than Romain Debord (8th at Koppenbergcross and 10th at the Euros) and Rémi Lelandais (12th at Koppenbergcross and 19th at the Euros).
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
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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
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