LIVE BLOG. Jasper Stuyven leaves Herentals hospital after surgery, plan is for Wout van Aert to undergo surgery today | Sport

Jasper Stuyven has now been released from Herentals hospital. The Lidl-Trek rider underwent surgery on his broken collarbone. In the afternoon, the Leuven resident was able to get into the car, his wife Elke Bleyaert was at the wheel.

Mathieu van der Poel may have to do without teammate Gianni Vermeersch in the Tour of Flanders on Sunday. The West Flemish man was one of those involved in the serious fall and, according to Alpecin-Deceuninck, was mainly affected by a trauma to his tailbone/sacrum. Vermeersch also has abrasions on his back. “It will be evaluated whether he can participate in the Tour,” the team said.

The initial plan was that Wout van Aert, like Jasper Stuyven, would undergo surgery last night. But in the meantime it is clear that the leader of Visma-Lease a Bike (if all goes well) will only go under the knife in the Herentals hospital today.

Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) and Biniam Girmay (Intermarché) will suit up for their teams’ Tour of Flanders reconnaissance today. The two riders were involved in the terrible fall in Dwars door Vlaanderen yesterday. They did not suffer any fractures, but the exploration comes too early for both of them.

Girmay was examined yesterday in Ronse hospital. Pedersen (scratches and bruises) was able to get on his bike for a while, but was also unable to finish Dwars door Vlaanderen. If they make it to the start on Sunday, it won’t be at their best. Follow all the news about the Tour of Flanders HERE.

“Cycling is such a damn hard sport,” writes ex-cyclist Alberto Contador on X with a photo of Wout van Aert after his fall. “Not only because of the sacrifices you have to make to get in top shape for your goals, but also because of how quickly you are sometimes forced to say goodbye to those goals. A speedy recovery to everyone.”

Jasper Stuyven also shared one on Instagram x-ray showing that a lot of ironwork was used to put his collarbone back together. “Although I have never broken a collarbone before, I immediately knew it was worth it. It is immediately a big break,” our compatriot said yesterday about his injury.

Jasper Stuyven now reports on Instagram that his operation was successful. “I would like to thank everyone for their expressions of support and hope to recover quickly after my operation. I would like to thank the Claes family for their help and quick work. Now I will take my time to recover as optimally as possible.”

For Stuyven it is only his first broken collarbone. “My spring is suddenly over and that is of course a huge blow. I suffered very hard in the classics for two years to get back to my top level. After many training camps and sacrifices, I seemed to have regained my level in 2024, maybe I have never been better than now. I now sincerely hope that Lidl-Trek can continue the good trend in the next races.”

Mads Pedersen has responded for the first time after the crash. The winner of Ghent-Wevelgem suffered abrasions and bruises. Not too serious damage. He rode his bike back to the team bus. “Bruises and a sore body are undoubtedly on the menu in the coming days. I will do my utmost to be there again on Sunday.” Pedersen also wishes his Lidl-Trek teammates Jasper Stuyven and Alex Kirsch, who both had to undergo surgery, a speedy recovery.

The winner of Dwars door Vlaanderen, Matteo Jorgenson, posted a photo on Instagram. With the caption: “The only way to respond to adversity is to fight back. This victory belongs to my captain Wout van Aert, who saw months of brutal sacrifice and scorching hard work shattered at 80 km/h. Get well soon , boss.”

In his heavy fall, Wout van Aert not only broke a collarbone and seven ribs, but also his sternum.

In the meantime, Wout van Aert and Jasper Stuyven have left the hospital in Ronse, both in an ambulance. The riders are on their way to another hospital, says Maxim Goethals, our cycling journalist who has taken up post at the hospital. “For Van Aert, this will probably be the Herentals hospital, although we cannot confirm that. In any case, this is a huge blow for Van Aert. He worked hard on the Teide for three weeks to be good now. That was it. only thing that mattered this spring. But that plan is now falling apart. A very harsh verdict and it is also highly uncertain that Van Aert will reach the Tour of Italy.”

Wout van Aert has broken his collarbone and several ribs. His team confirms this. Our compatriot will certainly have to miss the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix and the Amstel Gold Race.

“It is still unclear how long Wout’s recovery will take,” the team reports. “But he will certainly miss the Ronde, Roubaix and the Amstel.”