Matteo Jorgenson won Dwars door Vlaanderen on Wednesday after his team-mate Wout van Aert and Biniam Girmay were taken away in ambulances after a high-speed crash.
Jorgenson won the Paris-Nice earlier in March and confirmed his burgeoning status in his first season with Visma. He broke away from an elite clique of six riders with a devastating turn of pace 6km away from the finish line after a 188km run with huge crowds.
“It’s surreal,” said Jorgenson, wiping tears from his eyes at the finish line.
More memorably a mass collision in the peloton caused by an uneven road surface felled up to a dozen unwitting riders, with Van Aert suffering major abrasions to his back as his yellow Visma team jersey was ripped almost entirely off.
“I was on Wout’s wheel when it happened. It was a really ugly fall,” said the winner. “We were going so fast. My thoughts are with Wout and all the guys involved”.
The accident occurred on a three-lane highway where there appeared to be one lane slightly higher than the neighbouring two. Other high-profile riders hurt were Jasper Stuyven of Lidl-Trek and his team-mate Mads Pedersen.
All four of those riders have won major classics and would have been contenders for the Tour of Flanders on Sunday and Paris-Roubaix the following Sunday.
After the race, Visma released a statement about van Aert’s injuries and confirmed he will miss the rest of the spring classics.
“Update on Wout van Aert: Unfortunately, Wout van Aert suffered several fractures in the crash at Dwars door Vlaanderen today,” a post on X read. “A broken collarbone and several broken ribs were diagnosed in hospital. It is unclear how long his recovery will take. He will definitely miss the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix and the Amstel Gold Race. We wish Wout all the best and a speedy recovery!”
