The abiding image of the day will be of Wout van Aert sitting forlornly on the roadside, his Visma-Lease a Bike jersey and his Tour of Flanders dreams torn asunder. Dwars door Vlaanderen winner Matteo Jorgenson and teammate knew as much when he arrived in the press room afterwards.
At that point, an hour or so after the finish, the full extent of Van Aert’s injuries had yet to be confirmed, but it already seemed clear that the Belgian’s Classics campaign had come to an abrupt end. Shortly afterwards, Visma-Lease a Bike confirmed that Van Aert had sustained a broken collarbone and ribs when he fell with 67km remaining.
