Defending champion Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) is back up and riding after being involved in a big crash at the Tour of Flanders with 126km to go.
Van der Poel was riding towards the back of the peloton with most of his Alpecin-Deceuninck teammates on the approach to the Eikenberg, when a crash on the left-hand side of the peloton rippled back through the group and took down several riders including the former world champion.
He appeared uninjured after crashing onto the grass, jumping straight back on the bike and following teammate Silvan Dillier’s wheel to try and rejoin the peloton.
The likes of Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Emīls Liepiņš (Q36.5) and John Degenkolb (Picnic-PostNL) appeared to be more badly affected and stayed down after the crash.
With 122km to go, Van der Poel was at the back of the main group but a long way back from key rivals Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike), with the steep hellingen and cobbled sectors now coming thick and fast.
More to follow…
