Oudenaarde (Belgium) (AFP) - Cycling's Tour of Flanders was marred by a mass fall on Sunday as around 40 riders hit the tarmac with culprit Filip Maciejuk, who was disqualified from the race, offering a complete apology for "a big error in my judgement".
Wout van Aert and Julian Alaphilippe were able to continue but eventual winner Tadej Pogacar lost key teammate Tim Wellens while another fancied rider, Britain's Tom Pidcock lost Ben Turner.
Former champion Peter Sagan also had to pull out of the race due to the fall.
The accident happened around 140km into the 273km cobbled classic as Bahrain Victorious rider Maciejuk hit a pothole hidden by a puddle while trying to get around the peloton on a grass verge.
He veered wildly in front of other riders, then had to watch in dismay as a tangle of riders and bikes hit the ground.
Maciejuk was expelled from the race within minutes.
"I'm really sorry for my mistake and causing the crash today," said the embarrassed Polish rider.
"I hope all those involved are in good health and safe.This should not happen and was a big error in my judgement."
He added: "All I can do now is apologise for my mistake and learn from this in the future."
The race was eventually won by Pogacar, with Alaphilippe and Pidcock finishing eight minutes down on the day.
