"Wout was crying out in pain" - Shaken Mick van Dijke struggles to celebrate Visma's Dwars Door Vlaanderen victory after nasty van Aert crash
Cycling
Team Visma | Lease a Bike were ultimately successful at Dwars Door Vlaanderen 2024 as Matteo Jorgenson powered to victory after a late attack. After the very nasty crash of their leader, Wout van Aert however, celebrations were notably muted.
Mick van Dijke was right next to van Aert when the crash happened and carried the effects of the crash for the rest of the race in his mind. "I did the pull towards Berg Ten Houte, which put me behind that group with Tim van Dijke, Wout, Matteo and Tiesj Benoot. Tim then did the work to the Kanarieberg, where he did a full lead-out. I just spoke to him and he said that he had the throttle fully open, but then heard a crash behind him and Wout sliding on his back on the ground," he recaps to In de Leiderstrui.
The effects of the crash were immediately known to van Dijke with a piercing scream from his leader signalling the heavy nature of the incident. "I passed by afterwards and Wout was crying out in pain, so of course you don't feel good at all," he continues. "I saw that Wout was actually completely undressed. As cyclists we have little protection."
"It's all in good fun, that the action being whipped up. But then things can sometimes go wrong and that has unfortunately happened now," van Dijke concludes. "Wout is our leader. I don't know how he is doing now, but your thoughts are there. The fact that we still win says enough about our team. That's why we can still do the final, which is nice, but it feels very strange. It's nice from a sporting point of view, but... we do lose our leader."
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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🇧🇪 #DDV24 We'd rather not mention it, but we have to.. 😔 Wout has to abandon the race after a big crash. Let’s hope he is okay. 🍀 We’ll keep you posted.
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