Can Mathieu van der Poel count on Gianni Vermeersch in the Tour of Flanders?

Mathieu van der Poel will start the Tour of Flanders as top favorite, but can the world champion count on Gianni Vermeersch in the final? The Belgian was also involved in the heavy fall in Dwars door Vlaanderen on Wednesday and is a question mark for Sunday.

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According to his Alpecin-Deceuninck team, Vermeersch mainly suffers from trauma to his tailbone/sacrum. The 31-year-old driver also suffers from abrasions on his back. “It will be evaluated whether he can participate in the Tour,” it said on social media.

Van der Poel and Alpecin-Deceuninck hope that Vermeersch will be fit enough to appear at the start of the Tour on Sunday. The Belgian is one of the main riders in support of the world champion, together with Jasper Philipsen and Søren Kragh Andersen. Vermeersch himself finished seventh in the Tour of Flanders three years ago.

Straight through Flanders 2024 was overshadowed by the heavy crash in the descent to the Kanarieberg. Vermeersch did not escape unscathed, but his compatriots Wout van Aert and Jasper Stuyven are in even worse shape. The first suffered no fewer than nine fractures (collarbone, sternum and seven ribs) in the fall. Stuyven is struggling with a broken collarbone.