Wout van Aert was racing at Dwars door Vlaanderen just over a month ago with an eye on preparing for the cobbled monuments; in what was his final serious preparation day he suffered a brutal crash and injuries that put him out of over half his season's goals. Now, he is set to return to racing in the coming weeks.
Van Aert fractured several ribs, a collarbone and his sternum in a high-speed crash that involved many of the race's favourites on that day. It was a brutal end to his spring classics campaign, but unfortunately also for his goal of making a Giro d'Italia debut. His first half of the spring was entirely wiped out in that moment.