Heartbreak for John Degenkolb as he is forced out of Paris-Roubaix - German suffers multiple fractures after Flanders crash
Cycling
It was a brutal day at the Tour of Flanders for Team Picnic–PostNL, who endured one of the most difficult races in recent memory. The squad saw five riders abandon, with Enzo Leijnse, Timo Roosen, Tim Naberman, John Degenkolb, and Alex Edmondson all failing to reach the finish line. For three of them, the day ended not just with disappointment, but serious injury.
Naberman, Edmondson, and Degenkolb were all involved in a crash around 130 kilometres from the finish, and were forced to abandon soon after. Subsequent hospital checks revealed the full extent of the damage: Degenkolb suffered a broken collarbone, elbow, and wrist. Naberman sustained a fractured wrist, while Edmondson sprained his ankle.
“John will undergo surgery on his wrist, followed by a period of recovery. Expectations about his return can often change, but we expect him to be out of circulation for two months,” said team doctor Camiel Eldershof.
“At the moment Tim doesn’t need surgery but we will do another check next week to see if the situation changes but obviously he won’t be in the race while he recovers,” he added. “Alex will rest his ankle and we will see how it develops in the coming weeks.”
t was a race marred by crashes throughout the day, with several top names hitting the tarmac, including riders from UAE Team Emirates and even defending champion Mathieu van der Poel. But for Picnic–PostNL, the chaos turned into catastrophe, and the team now faces a challenging road ahead as they deal with the fallout from Flanders.
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- Shoulda , woulda, coulda.... pundits can say what they like cycling isn't quite like that and that's what keeps us watching, what keeps sponsors interested etc etcslappers6611-04-2025
- One bike throw at Flanders and a series of mechanicals at Roubaix, and yes, he could have won both, and Van der Poel would have two less on his list. Wout van Aert will likely never reach the magical space of the year he won on Ventoux, the TT, and the Champs Elysées during the Tour, and he's just that tiny notch below the best right now, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have a chance. It's Paris-Roubaix, you never know who is going to really make the difference.RidesHills11-04-2025
- The race is NOT on MAX. It's on NBC Sports (Peacock).Ben11-04-2025
- Hard men heal quickly.bobo11-04-2025
- Always reassuring to see articles that explain timelines so well, almost 3 months since when, mid-October then? But if Wout can come back like he did in 5 months so can he. By May he should be in top form again, just in time to let it settle in a while for July. Happy you’re back Remco, go catch em.Mistermaumau11-04-2025
- Yeah, sorry, you said it yourself, it’s the Olympics, not a WC, not a Tour, not a monument, not a team event, not a cycling gala. A once every 4 year event to bring nations together to celebrate the diversity of sport, so what if breakdancing has been included instead of 30 more cyclists who are paid pros? Know your Olympic history, remember drawing? The whole reason of the Olympics is for mainstream public to discover sport they rarely notice, for sports to showcase themselves to public that doesn’t usually watch and in order for athletes from lower ranked nations to participate with the elite for once. The US (now Jamaïca) have known this problem since dominating sprinting but there is no solution, you cannot resolve the Celebrate every nation vs Have only the best equation, it has to be a mix. Already nations with more than 1 cyclist have an advantage, being able to work as a team. As for those countries that can’t keep up, all the better for the elite’s chances, don’t knock it, and sorry but if you allow a Kiesenhofer to win gold, you don’t deserve any medal as an elite. The races have been fine with those that took part, just improve so you make your national selection, if you don’t make that, you don’t really deserve a medal anyway do you?Mistermaumau11-04-2025
- so excited to see remco back!! Cycling only gets better from herebruins3011-04-2025
- That tire clearance means little with the new UCI rules on tire width.Veganpotter11-04-2025
- If you do the rounds on non-Anglo commentators you’ll find plenty more, every cycling nation has good and bad ones.Mistermaumau10-04-2025
- Nathan is one of the best former pros commenting during races - up there with Sean Kelly and Nico Roche imo - McEwen, Blythe, you can keep themCrashjames10-04-2025