‘We try to stay positive’: G athlete Anke Sneyers has to adjust ambitions after collision during Tour of Flanders

Anke Sneyers (22) was supporting her parents on the Hotond, one of the climbs in the Tour of Flanders, when a rider crashed into her at high speed. However, they stood on the side of the road, at a sufficient distance from the cyclists. That’s what her mother says, who saw everything happen in a flash.

“I think the riders swerved for a supporter with a sign who was standing with us,” says Pascelli Malomgré (59). “There was a shout, there was a commotion and a rider who was sitting on the far right went off the road onto the verge. My daughter scooped that up.”

Her husband, across the road, took care of one of the fallen cyclists, while she saw her daughter lying, apparently unconscious. A team doctor came to her and called the emergency services.

In the hospital of Ronse, the athlete had to have stitches in the temple and was diagnosed with a concussion and a broken collarbone.

“We try to stay positive. It could have been much worse,” says Malomgré.

Yet it hits extra hard, because Anke Sneyers herself has important sporting goals this year. The G-athlete, a sport for people with a disability, psychological vulnerability or chronic condition, is a talent in the long jump.

The Belgian athletics championship in a month’s time has already been ruled out. And its main goal, the European Championships in June, is also in danger, just like the Paralympic Games in Paris.

Malomgré: “We hope to get more insight into this today or tomorrow from the specialists at the Herentals hospital.”

Anke doesn’t seem to remember anything about the incident. Several Facebook users wrote under an article about the fall that she should have been more careful, “not looking at the TV camera” or not standing in the way.

“How all these people dare to pass judgment in the comments, without having seen anything decent, and even respond by saying ‘no pity’, it makes me (sorry for the word) sick to my stomach,” reads a Facebook post from Anke’s brother. He works for the Alpecin-Deceuninck cycling team and is team manager of Crelan-Corendon.

The Sneyers family breathes sports and cycling. Anke also took part in cycling in her youth. Her father is a former Belgian champion in the shot put and discus throw, but later trained at the Flemish cycling school in Zolder.

“It was really taught to us that you should support safely,” says mother Malomgré.

The Oudenaarde public prosecutor’s office is conducting an investigation into the circumstances of the collision.