The finale of Dwars Door Vlaanderen was about to begin when the dreaded event happened: a massive crash in the peloton. Wout van Aert, Mads Pedersen, Jasper Stuyven and Biniam Girmay were all badly affected.
Everyone was on the edge of their seats until the riders suddenly lay everywhere on the road. Three Lidl-Trek riders, including Pedersen and Stuyven, were among them, along with Alex Kirsch. Stuyven was in the worst condition, curled up in the fetal position and in a lot of pain.
Van Aert was also in tears, literally. The Visma | Lease a Bike Belgian sat defeated on the asphalt with his shirt completely torn open at the back. Tears followed quickly, knowing that his spring campaign would essentially be over.
There was more bad news at Intermarché-Wanty, with Biniam Girmay crashing hard and having to abandon the race just like Stuyven and Van Aert. Reportedly, Pedersen did get back on his bike, but the Dane only did so after a long pause on the ground.