Colijnsplaats cyclist Tim van Dijke saw Wout van Aert’s heavy crash, which shocked the entire cycling world, up close on Wednesday. The Belgian was in his wheel during Dwars door Vlaanderen. “On that stretch we went 80 to 90 km/h,” he says on the Wielerflits.nl YouTube channel. “Then I heard a bang and saw Wout go. A very nasty sight.”
Wout van Aert was the leader of Visma-Lease a Bike on Wednesday. He was cycling warmly for next Sunday’s Tour of Flanders, where he wanted to compete with Mathieu van der Poel, among others. Van Dijke: “I was in the lead towards the Kanarieberg. I was in a full lead-out to properly drop Wout. It’s crowded there. You know: the favorites go to the Kanarieberg. Guys like me do everything they can to get the leader in a good position. We therefore give each other little space.”
Van Dijke (24) said that a shirt no longer offers any protection at such high speeds. Van Aert’s entire back was open. “It turned out to be a bad day,” said the Noord-Beveland rider, who himself finished far behind. The fact that teammate Matteo Jorgenson still won was a small plaster on the wound.
Van Aert will now not be able to ride the Tour of Flanders. In addition, there are still a few doubts at Visma-Lease a Bike. Tim van Dijke and his twin brother Mick were supposed to ride the Volta NXT Classic in Limburg over the Easter weekend, but they (or one of them) may be moved up to Flanders Most Beautiful. Tim also rode it last year, Mick did it two years ago.
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Tags: nasty Zeeland rider Wout van Aert crash Sports Zeeland
