Van Dijke brothers can't think of anything else after seeing team leader Van Aert post-crash: "Wout was screaming in pain"

Dwars door Vlaanderen 2024 turned out to be a day of absolute extremes for Visma | Lease a Bike. The Dutch team saw their leader Wout van Aert drop out after a massive crash but eventually managed to secure victory through Matteo Jorgenson. The Van Dijke brothers witnessed it all up close and shared their mixed feelings with IDLProCycling.com after the race.

Mick was the first to arrive. "I was doing the pull towards Berg Ten Houte, which put me behind that group with Tim, Wout, Matteo and Tiesj Benoot. Tim then did the work towards the Kanarieberg, where he did a full-on lead-out. I just spoke to him, and he said he had the throttle fully open, but then heard a bang behind him and heard Wout sliding across the ground on his back."

"Afterwards, I passed by, and Wout was screaming in pain, so of course, you feel completely awful. Seeing the kind of hits we all take, of course it's a shame for our team and the sport. But well, that's also part of sports," Van Dijke tries to put things somewhat into perspective "I saw that Wout was practically stripped bare. As cyclists, we wear little protection."

"They don't just take that section out in De Ronde for nothing. It's all fun, the action that gets hyped up. But then things can still go wrong, and unfortunately, that's what happened here," Mick states. "Wout is our leader. I don't know how he's doing now, but your thoughts are with him. The fact that we still win, that says enough about our team. That's why we can still ride the finale, which is nice, but it feels very strange. It's beautiful in terms of sports, but... It cost us our leader."

Tim van Dijke: "A very grim moment"

Then Tim arrived, the man who shook his head the moment he heard Van Aert fall. "I took control towards the Kanarieberg, so it was my job to drop those guys off. I gave everything I had and think I was going close to 90 km/h when I heard a big bang behind me. When I looked back, I saw Wout hitting the ground. That was a very grim moment, and from then on, all I could think about was him and the other victims."

"There's gravel there. It's quite dangerous... It might be the worst place to fall, that must be unbelievable. Every year, we all race down there with clenched buttocks, at speeds that are outrageous," he shakes his head. "No one will move an inch there, so this is... Well, shitty. The fact that we still won, is incredibly impressive. Nevertheless, it's a worthless day for us," the two conclude their realistic story.