“Maybe we can have a coffee together on our sick bed”: Jasper Stuyven embraces the gallows humour as Wout van Aert also operated on at same hospital following horrendous crash; Bumper bank holiday Drum & Bass On The Bike + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Thousands expected at bumper bank holiday Drum & Bass On The Bike ride in Bristol
Remember the scenes the last time Dom Whiting took his Drum & Bass On The Bike ride to Bristol?
> Cyclists take over Bristol for “mind-blowing” Drum & Bass On The Bike
Thousands of cyclists are expected to take part in Dom’s latest event, starting at the Lloyds Amphitheatre by the harbourside at 2pm on Sunday before following a similar route to previous events, up to Brandon Hill, Park Street, the Bearpit, Stokes Croft, Cabot Circus, Castle Park and finishing back by the harbourside.
Jack spoke to Dom ahead of his London event last summer, the DJ telling road.cc it all started during lockdown due to “pure boredom”.
“The whole thing was a complete accident in that I didn’t expect it to evolve the way it has. This has just become something amazing really, and I think the power of it has kind of overtaken any thoughts of an end goal.”
Speaking about his last Bristol event, Dom said it had been especially “memorable”.
“Everyone was getting involved, even the cars. That old stigma of cars vs bikes, it was totally non-existent because everyone’s involved,” he said.
We sent Simon to the London ride to get the first-hand raving experience…
> Joining Dom Whiting for a Drum & Bass On The Bike ride – a glorious afternoon in every sense
"Straight-up nonsense": Cycling fans defend Dwars door Vlaanderen winner Matteo Jorgenson after Visma-Lease a Bike rider faces bizarre criticism for not waiting after Wout van Aert crash
Things I didn’t expect to read today: Visma-Lease a Bike’s new classics star Matteo Jorgenson taking to social media to defend his race-winning ride at Dwars door Vlaanderen following criticism from some about his decision not to stop after Wout van Aert’s crash.
Strange, right? For a team like Visma-Lease a Bike (whose strength and classics success has come largely from having multiple strong riders capable of winning races, giving them numerous cards to play) the idea that just because Van Aert is the best, all others should wait to see him into the ambulance seems… bizarre? I could think of some other adjectives too… but here we are…
[Zac Williams/SWpix.com]
The American, seeking to be the first male US rider to win the Tour of Flanders and only the second ever after Coryn Labecki’s 2017 success, took to social media to address the haters (who’d presumably had a few too many glasses of Kwaremont by the time they took to their keyboards)…
“So about yesterday… I really want to wish everyone that went down the best in their individual recoveries, however long and arduous they may be . It was a big relief to get news after the finish that no one was in critical condition. Having seen the crash first-hand I imagined a far worse outcome. To respond to some of the criticism I got for continuing to race afterwards:
“After a few seconds of shock having barely escaped myself, I tried as hard as I could to bring myself out of it. As we got onto the foot of the Kanarieberg I felt some responsibility to honour what has gone into this. The sheer man-hours, planning, late nights and early mornings put in by our staff and of course all the teammates that had spent 150km dying in the wind to bring us there in the front… Why would I let all of that go to waste? We already lost our leader, our strongest rider and the heart of our classics team, should we then just throw in the towel?
“I am proud of how Tiesj Bennot and I continued to fight and I hope we honoured the display that Wout van Aert was planning to put on. Anyway, see you all Sunday where all of Visma-Lease a Bike will try to do him proud.”
Many will feel a response was not necessary, the complaints slammed as “nonsense” and “mind-boggling” by several of the fans who replied to his post.
"I feel really shit about it": Tiesj Benoot blames himself for Dwars door Vlaanderen crash
[Zac Williams/SWpix.com]
Tiesj Benoot told the TV cameras he blames himself for the crash that ended Wout van Aert’s classics season, saying he feels “really shit about it”.
“Our plan was to go on the Kanarieberg and Tim van Dijke was doing a great lead-out towards the climb,” he explained. “When Tim had finished leading us out, Wout shouted at me to accelerate, which I did. But I think he touched my back wheel when I stood up to accelerate. I feel really shit about it, actually.
“Wout shouted at me ‘Go Tiesj,’ and I stood up to accelerate again towards that corner, and I think he hit my rear wheel there. That was the feeling I had. It happened so quickly I’m not entirely sure.
“We were together for the last seven weeks, I shared a room with him in Tenerife for three weeks. He’s a good friend, I’m really sorry for him. I was thinking of him after the crash. I had Wout on my mind for the rest of the race.”
More details emerge about collision which saw women's Dwars door Vlaanderen stopped for 15 minutes
The classics sure know how to pack plenty of drama and incident into an afternoon’s racing…
This is what happened in the men’s race ahead to cause the neutralisation and shortening of the women’s Dwars Door Vlaanderen#DDV24 #DDVwomen pic.twitter.com/SqBl6nT3On
— Mathew Mitchell (@MatMitchell30) March 27, 2024
Ryan mentioned this on yesterday’s live blog, a few more details now emerging about the collision which saw the women’s race, eventually won by Marianne Vos, paused for 15 minutes. A medical car ended up in a ditch and a Soudal Quick-Step car badly damaged after their drivers had collided in the convoy ahead of the race.
The fire service was required to get the medical car’s doctor out of the vehicle in the ditch, with the individual then taken to hospital in Ronse (the same facility where Jasper Stuyven and Wout van Aert were initially treated too).
"Where do Lime bikes come from?"
When two hire bikes love each other very much…
Spring is officially here and the Lime bikes have begun their mating rituals! pic.twitter.com/oohTYeu9rJ
— Travis and Sigrid (@sigirides) March 28, 2024
Cycling in Flanders announces stoofvlees-friet energy gels
We had to check the date for a second here…
Yep, that’s a beef stew and frites (stoofvlees-friet for the Belgians) energy gel. It’s a limited edition number that can be claimed (one per rider) by filling out a form on the Cycling in Flanders website and popping along to the Centrum Ronde van Vlaanderen in Oudenaarde to claim your… prize?! I think I’d rather bonk, to be honest…
In time for Sunday?
Me on my way to Belgium to donate a collarbone and several of my ribs to Wout Van Aert pic.twitter.com/f1xTxuixlz
— Regan Kirsch (@theeReganKirsch) March 27, 2024
David Millar promises to "change your opinion" and reveal "what goes on in pro cycling world", after critics slam sports festival for "platforming a former doper"
UCI releases statement addressing hookless rim use, promises "in-depth analysis of the appropriateness of the current requirements for the use of different types of equipment in competition"
After Thomas De Gendt’s UAE Tour crash, a sighting of a similar detached tyre and insert at Strade Bianche, comments from Adam Hansen about the CPA riders’ union wanting the design banned to avoid potential future disaster, the UCI has now released another statement…
Following its statement on recent incidents involving the use of hookless rims with tubeless tyres, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) is today in a position to issue its first guidelines on the subject for the short, medium, and long term.
The UCI’s initial statement came in light of several incidents that have occurred in professional road cycling over the last two years at events on the UCI International Calendar, including this year at two UCI WorldTour events – the UAE Tour and the Strade Bianche (ITA) –, as well as concerns expressed by road cycling stakeholders about rider safety.
In the short term, the UCI reminds teams and riders of the requirement set out in article 1.3.018 of the UCI Regulations, which imposes compliance with International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) standards 5775-2:2021 and 5775-1:2023 in cycling competitions. These standards provide a framework for the compatibility of tyre and rim widths on bicycles. The UCI notes that the norms defined in these ISO standards have not always been respected and does not rule out the possibility that this may have been a contributing factor in some of the incidents encountered.
The UCI also recognises that compliance with the ISO standards by teams and riders is made more difficult by the fact that manufacturers base their recommendations for compatibility between tyres and rims on the recommendations provided by the European Tyre and Rim Technical Organisation (ETRTO), which have not always been aligned with ISO standards.
Further information on articles 1.3.018 and 1.3.002 of the UCI Regulations, which both refer to the ISO standards mentioned, is available in the UCI Technical Regulations Clarification Guide.
In the medium term, the UCI has taken the decision to mandate SafeR – the newly formed entity dedicated to safety that brings together all stakeholders of professional road cycling – to work with all parties concerned, including teams, riders and the cycling industry, to explore potential improvements and clarifications regarding the use of hookless rims with tubeless tyres that would be relevant to incorporate into the UCI Regulations. SafeR will provide their recommendations, to be considered for application for the 2025 season, in a report with the aim of continuously improving rider safety. In particular, teams, riders and Commissaires are asked to report any incident involving hookless rims with tubeless tyres that may occur and to ensure that the circumstances of the incident can be analysed in detail.
In the longer term, the UCI will carry out an in-depth analysis of the appropriateness of the current requirements for the use of different types of equipment in competition, in particular wheels, to ensure that these requirements guarantee the safety of riders, are adapted to professional cycling, and do not rely exclusively or for the most part on the diligence and internal processes of manufacturers.
Disabled cyclist wins battle to remove "discriminatory" barriers after council agrees for out-of-court settlement to modify National Cycle Network path
Arnaud De Lie diagnosed with Lyme disease
[Zac Williams/SWpix.com]
Belgian classics rider Arnaud De Lie has been diagnosed with Lyme disease following a disrupted start to the season. Lotto Dstny had this week said that De Lie would “take some time to reset and build up towards the second part of the season” after illness and a crash at Le Samyn which ultimately caused him to abandon Paris-Nice too.
The team revealed that after a further check-up it was discovered that he has Lyme disease, a bacterial infection that can be spread to humans by infected ticks.
“It’s possibly, as a Lyme diagnosis is never 100% conclusive, the reason why De Lie couldn’t perform on a high level the past races,” the team suggested. “Treatment with antibiotics has been started”.
Visma-Lease a Bike confirm Wout van Aert suffered broken sternum, broken collarbone and several broken ribs in Dwars door Vlaanderen crash
Wout van Aert’s injuries have been confirmed, Visma-Lease a Bike saying he suffered a broken sternum, broken collarbone and several broken ribs, adding that “it is unclear when Wout will be able to get back on his bike” and “the next few weeks will be all about his recovery”.
“He will, therefore, miss the spring classics,” the team said. “His participation in the Giro d’Italia is still uncertain. We will make a decision in the coming weeks based on his recovery. On behalf of Wout, we thank everyone for their support. He now hopes to continue his recovery in peace.”
10 things you didn't know your Sram AXS or Shimano Di2 can do
"Maybe we can have a coffee together on our sick bed": Jasper Stuyven embraces the gallows humour as Wout van Aert also operated on at same hospital following horrendous crash
Spare a thought for Jasper Stuyven and Wout van Aert this morning. All those months of work, sacrifice, altitude camps, dieting, training, efforts, racing and more, all to peak perfectly for the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. All snatched away with one touch of wheels, the entire classics season turned on its head in a couple of seconds.
For Van Aert, it was a season planned around this week. No Strade Bianche, no Milan-San Remo, no Paris-Nice or Tirreno-Adriatico, less form for the winter cyclocross — all designed for the final weekend in March and the first in April. For Stuyven, the journey has arguably been even longer, the Belgian writing on Instagram that after “two years of suffering in the classics” he was finally back to “my best level ever” (and that’s from a man who’s won San Remo)…
The pair were taken to the same hospital in Ronse and then operated on in Herentals last night, both back-to-back surgeries for a broken collarbone.
“Immediately after him it will be my turn. Maybe tomorrow [Thursday] morning we can have a coffee together on our sick bed…” Stuyven told Het Laatste Nieuws. “Fuck, I saw it happening in front of me, but I couldn’t move. Wout tapped the rear wheel of a teammate, was thrown off balance and collided with my teammate Alex Kirsch. The two fell and since I was just behind Kirsch, there was no way to dodge. I went over my bike with my head and took a serious tumble ending up on my left shoulder.
“Am I angry? It is typical that it happened in the run-up to the Kanarieberg. One of the most dangerous moments in the race. It is not without reason that they have taken that out of the Tour [of Flanders] this year, but not yet for Dwars door Vlaanderen. Maybe now they will avoid it in the future. However, you cannot blame the organisation, it is the riders who want to position themselves as best as possible in such a large group, which made it dangerous.”
Stuyven’s teammate Mads Pedersen was also brought down in the high-speed crash, the Dane at least able to remount and continue riding, before abandoning a short while later. Pedersen also updated fans on Instagram, thanking his mechanic for an “absolutely amazing job” to bring his “beautiful bike back to life” and said he’d do “my absolute best to be back for Sunday”.
Help us to bring you the best cycling content
If you’ve enjoyed this article, then please consider subscribing to road.cc from as little as £1.99. Our mission is to bring you all the news that’s relevant to you as a cyclist, independent reviews, impartial buying advice and more. Your subscription will help us to do more.
29 Comments
Read more...
Read more...
Read more...
Latest Comments
I had actually cycled my first century the week before the accident. I got back on the bike straight away then a hip wore out and was replaced so I missed a lot of cycling in 2024 but I was back to my normal level in 2025 not so sure what has happened this year I am not as enthusiastic as usual I have been on the bike just not cycled far. I will have to do more as I will do a 50 mile ride in September the annual charity ride. Not sure fear is the problem exactly more a feeling that there is less enjoyment.in a bike ride than there once was.
What’s all this MTB palaver? The Tour de France was originally a gravel race. 🙃
@wtjs I've sent in 2 close pass videos to kent police, never heard anything back.
@Rendel Harris I had wondered how they might be preparing to deal with the expected heat. Got to keep them as safe as possible. My excitement is building, always a nervy first week, too many crashes in the peleton and no amount of down gearing is going to prevent that. From my cloudy memory, the pogecar lad is very rarely caught out on the wrong side of a crosswind split.
Rumor has it that riding the MMR gives you autism.
Well this looks ominous: real possibility of Tour stages being cancelled due to extreme heat. I'll put the link in a reply otherwise this whole comment will be quarantined - it's on the Guardian if anyone wants to search for themselves.
Having used the street multiple times since it was opened just over a month ago, I can report two issues which are preventing the improvements from working to their full potential. Firstly, there is no signage other than the painted bikes on the road itself, so there is nothing to indicate that cyclists have priority. The second is that the double yellow lines stop about two-thirds of the way down the road, meaning that from that point onwards, there are multiple cars parked half on the pavement and not in the designated parking places, reducing the width of both the footpath and the road to what it was before the improvements were made.
@MaxiMinimalist Really? So this applies only to drivers from Bouches-du-Rhône, Haute-Garonne and Vaucluse, drivers from the other sixteen départements that make up the south are fine?
Yeah, it's great isn't it........
29 thoughts on ““Maybe we can have a coffee together on our sick bed”: Jasper Stuyven embraces the gallows humour as Wout van Aert also operated on at same hospital following horrendous crash; Bumper bank holiday Drum & Bass On The Bike + more on the live blog”
Worst punishment pass I have
Worst punishment pass I have ever had.
90kph @ 2.5T
Strong winds also.
Nail him.
Nail him.
Did they actualy swerve
Did they actualy swerve towards you or something to make you think it was a punishment pass? I can see none of the sterotypical, ‘get in the cycle lane’ reasons, just an ignorant barsteward in a car who can’t be held up for two seconds whilst the road clears and carries on regardless. I hope the police take action!
You can see the white car
You can see the white car only cm away and the driver only gave me 20cm. It’s uphill and straight, so he barrelled through with no care at all.
I hadn’t even noticed the
I hadn’t even noticed the white car! WTAF were they thinking???
“Must get in front. Must get
“Must get in front. Must get in front”
If they were thinking at all.
Being *very* generous but
Being *very* generous but possibly the usual MGIF plus:
Yes but I’m an entitled
Yes but I’m an entitled driver and I should not have to use brakes except to stop at my destination and everything else can get out of my way. Cyclists, pedestrians, other drivers, traffic lights… even buildings, fields and hills while they’re at it.
I had a white van man
I had a white van man yesterday who decided he couldnt possibly wait behind a parked car for me to pass, so I chose not to get out of his way, till he had to slow down.
that was the point I noticed he was holding a coffee cup in one hand, as he remonstrated at me with his other free hand, maybe it was one of those new self driving vans.
Fields you say ?
Fields you say ?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-norfolk-68661837
So needless
So needless
Otherwise law abiding drivers? … thinking about the “often further crimes come to light when arresting those committing driving offenses” – albeit this seems a “blatant wrong’uns” case.
His son Thomaz Urbaniak, 26, of Newmarket, Suffolk, who was a passenger in the car, was jailed for two years after admitting aggravated vehicle taking and burglary of a commercial premises.
Think he was already
Think he was already disqualified from driving too.
Just for a moment though think without the police chase and the subsequent referral to IOPC,but same crash happens, does he get the same jail term ?
thats incredibly generous, my
thats incredibly generous, my assumption is their thinking goes something like
Hirsute wrote:
If you are being generous, they should lose their license as they didn’t realise what they were doing.
If you are being realistic, they should be in prison because they did know what they were doing.
Patrick9-32 wrote:
— Patrick9-32One way to find out is to put a member of the driver’s family on the bike and ask them to repeat the manoeuvre.
Essex police have come back
Essex police have come back with course or conditional offer for what I categorise as borderline dangerous driving. Disappointing.
Cyclists outperform drivers again.
The price of a life
The price of a life
£1000 and a year ban
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd18lz33e3po
Of course it has to be in
Of course it has to be in Scotland, where judges are in a competition for the lowest punishment possible.
And to think, from Monday, people will be jailed for fake crimes.
dubwise wrote:
“Stealing the moon”?
Clearly this driver thought
Clearly this driver thought his was a “fake crime” because he fought it in court. Presumably “they just ran out / I didn’t see them so it’s tragic but it’s not my fault”.
As Roadpeace point out there is definitely a belief that “accidents happen”. People don’t see driving as something you’ve chosen to do – and thus increasing your risks of being the agent of someone else’s injury or death.
Lots of people (and indeed some police forces…) seem to think that taking what seem to be illegal actions on the roads that don’t lead to serious injury or death are not even “fake crimes” but effectively no crime at all.
There isn’t an awful lot in
There isn’t an awful lot in the linked article to help figure out what happened – it reads as though the toddler scooted out into the road and the driver had time to react but didn’t because they were distracted? The court heard he was paying attention to a different potential hazard; I daresay most people who comment here probably suspect he was more likely to be playing with the car stereo or his phone.
On the one hand, if you live in the street and know kids play in it then you should take that into account whilst starting your journey, but on the other hand it is totally plausible that this was an uncharacteristic momentary lapse with tragic consequences?
I don’t know how this should compare with a similar outcome where the cause was an inability to stop in time because the car had defective brakes and the driver knew it before setting off?
I’d certainly argue that this incident as presented doesn’t merit as severe a punishment as most of the aggressive driving videos we see on road.cc where the driver has made a conscious decision to use their car to put someone in danger of serious injury or death?
I have 2 questions about this
I have 2 questions about this:
1) why was he reversing out of his drive and into an area near a play area without a guide
and
2) if he knew there woulkd be children around, why didn’t he reverse into his drive.
I thought that the price of
I thought that the price of the life was the £40 victim surcharge.?
More details here : https:/
More details here : https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/jury-trial-man-accused-causing-32242250
If you look on google maps it shows the childrens play area completely fenced in, the road looks quite wide.
From what is described in the article, using the fact that he was looking at children in a park rather than the road in front of him as a defence is beyond my comprehension.
He also drove off after the collision but did return a short while later.
Another article here : https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/newsletter/newsletter-news/dumfries-driver-found-guilty-causing-32
I wonder what the parents think now.
From the roadcc article
Well this one certainly doesn’t. I have no problem with no jail, especially at the moment, but a one year ban is no where near enough and the fine is an insult to the parents. You can’t afford a momentary loss of concentration when in control of a machine that can inflict such damage on another human being.
“He also drove off after the
“He also drove off after the collision but did return a short while later.”
I was doing a talk to some sixth form (or whatever it’s called nowadays) students last week and this came up in the context of getting a job in my old industry.
If the background checks throw up a speeding fine, or a due care and attention offence then as long as you’re remorseful, we can look past it. People are human and they make mistakes, especially when young (and if you tell me you’ve never, even as a teenager, done something which could have resulted in someone getting badly hurt, I don’t believe you).
However, if the background checks throw up failing to stop at the scene or getting behind the wheel after drinking then we can never look past those because they reveal a character failing that makes someone difficult to trust.
Failing to stop after hitting a toddler? Now THAT has to be jail-time and a very long ban indeed.
The “momentary lapse in
The “momentary lapse in concentration” sh1te, more likely a habitual series of driving without care through residential areas. FFS its a cul-de-sac with a small play park, a true momentary lack of concentration would likely have resulted in kid bouncing off a bumper at worst given an appropriate speed for that area!
Alexandru had suffered “55
Alexandru had suffered “55 separate injuries” and “the most significant injuries were to the head”.
And he thought he’d hit a scooter – because he was by a park? But he didn’t think there might be a child with the scooter.
The worst part of this is the
The worst part of this is the message sent other motorists that a “momentary lapse in concentration” is no big deal. Why bother to concentrate on your driving if there are no consequences for failing to do so?
Sporza has slo-mo of the
Sporza has slo-mo of the beginning of Wout’s crash from a camerabike in front of the peloton. Confirms Tiesj Benoot’s post-race reaction where he said Wout said “go”, he stood up, felt a bump – which he thinks was Wout’s front wheel touching his back – and then the crash. See:
https://www.indeleiderstrui.nl/wielrennen/sporza-toont-nieuwe-slow-motion-beelden-crash-van-aert-en-co-niet-voor-gevoelige-oren-en-ogen