Hans Vandeweghe about the fall of Wout van Aert: ‘This is the price we pay for modern cycling’

Hello Hans. How exactly did Wout van Aert fall?

“As far as we know now it was a fairly classic accident. Two riders ride one behind the other, the front one comes straight onto the pedals to gain more speed, and the frame stays behind for a moment, causing the second rider to tap the rear wheel. In this case, Van Aert’s teammate Tiesj Benoot was supposed to bring him forward in the match. Benoot was able to stay upright, Van Aert fell, and he brought down the riders behind him: including Jasper Stuyven, Mads Pedersen and Biniam Girmay.

“With such a maneuver, most riders sign with a waving hand behind their bottom, but if you are riding towards the Kanarieberg at 80 kilometers per hour like now, you obviously don’t do that. Afterwards I heard from Tiesj Benoot’s voice that he was very affected, and that he perhaps also realized that this is how it happened. You feel it when someone hits your wheel. Sometimes you fall too, but Benoot has stayed upright.”

Was it a dangerous point in the match?

“This is the price we pay for modern cycling. In recent years we have had an increasingly competitive peloton that drives closer together, at increasingly higher speeds. And that has to change.

“The problem is that the roads are not suitable for the way racing is done today. The Flemish roads are not wide enough, which is asking for trouble. Although I must immediately say that in the Tour de France they also fall on wide asphalt roads. The main culprit is the high speed that riders achieve, especially on gentle descents. And all on 28 or 30 millimeter straps.”

What is the verdict?

“Van Aert has a broken collarbone and he is also said to have broken some ribs. Jasper Stuyven also broke his collarbone. Mads Pedersen was able to finish the race, but it remains to be seen what impact his fall will have on the rest of the spring.”

What does this mean for Van Aert? His spring is over, but what about the Giro, for example?

“If a collarbone fracture is operated on, you can be back on the rollers within a week. If ribs are also broken, it’s a different story. Broken ribs are much more painful and you can barely move for two weeks. Before you can properly get on a bike, let alone train as you want, it will take a long time.

“If Van Aert can go to the Giro, it will not be in the form he would like. We have to wait and see exactly how extensive the damage is, but it is quite possible that Van Aert will now ride the Tour instead of the Giro.”

How was Van Aert’s form? would he have competed for victory in the Tour and Roubaix?

“He certainly would have participated. He was in top form and was at the front again today. Whether he would have won is of course another question. But this is certainly a heavy blow for Van Aert, and also for Stuyven. Those men have multiple goals, and now they may be aiming for the Olympic Games or the World Cup, but the first goal is already gone. Six months of preparation can be thrown in the trash. And it always means starting over from scratch.”