Visma's Van Kerckhove couldn't perform at U23 time trial after brother hit by a car driver: 'I just held on until the finish'

"From the start, I could feel I didn't have good legs. I could only produce 400 watts. It wasn't my day. I did what I could. I just held on until the finish," Van Kerckhove told RTBF after the race.

The intermediate time checks told the story of a rider not fully focused on the race. Van Kerckhove was seventh at the first checkpoint and eighth at the second, according to La DH, before he collapsed in the closing kilometres to finish one minute and 23 seconds behind race winner Ryan Gal.

Van Kerckhove had been named among the leading contenders alongside Héctor Álvarez, Egholm, Landbo, and Jasper Schoofs. His season form backed up that billing: he had won the Belgian U23 time trial title in May and earlier secured overall victories at the Istrian Spring Tour, the Flèche du Sud, and the Alpes Isère Tour. He has already signed a two-year contract to step up to the Visma | Lease a Bike WorldTeam from 2027.

None of that preparation counted for much on Monday. "I didn't sleep well, I was thinking about my brother," Van Kerckhove said. "I now have to recover in the next few days to focus on the road race."

Seff Van Kerckhove, 18, had been training with Matisse, Jasper Schoofs, and Vic De Smet on a straight stretch of road near the Belgian team hotel on Sunday when the collision occurred. The four riders were doing time trial intervals and were spaced apart during their efforts, meaning none of Seff's companions saw the impact directly, according to CyclingUpToDate.

"From what I understand, a car suddenly drove across the street, presumably to turn onto a driveway," Matisse told Het Laatste Nieuws, as reported by CBC News. "The driver of that car didn't see Seff coming, and because Seff was in his time trial handlebars at that moment, he couldn't brake in time and crashed head-on into that car."

Seff was taken to hospital, where he was found to have sustained fractures to vertebrae in his spine, according to Velora Cycling. He had been one of Belgium's leading medal hopes for Tuesday's junior time trial, having become the first rider ever to win the Giro della Lunigiana in successive years. The Belgian team confirmed he would not be replaced for Tuesday's time trial.

The collision was devastatingly familiar. This was the second time the teenager had been hit by a car in just nine months. A crash in Belgium in December left Seff with four fractured vertebrae, and he only returned to training in April. Despite the setback, he went on to win nine races after his comeback, including the Classique des Alpes and the Giro della Lunigiana.

Matisse Van Kerckhove, the future Visma | Lease a Bike WorldTeam rider, will hope to have a more focused race when he lines up for the U23 road race on Friday. For now, his thoughts remain with his brother.