His victory took a back seat. If Matteo Jorgenson won the classic Across Flanders on Wednesday, his Visma-Lease a Bike team lost its Belgian leader, one of the stars of the peloton Wout van Aert.
Victim of a broken collarbone, the green jersey of the 2022 Tour de France is forfeited for the Tour of Flanders on Sunday and Paris-Roubaix the following weekend, two monuments of his sport that he dreams of winning.
Thursday on Twitter, formerly X, the American runner therefore had to “justify” his joy when crossing the line alone on Wednesday. “About yesterday (Wednesday). I really want to wish all those who suffered the fall the best in their individual recovery, as long and arduous as it may be, slips the recent winner of Paris-Nice. It was a great relief to learn after arrival that no one was in critical condition. Having witnessed the accident, I imagined a much worse outcome. »
Matteo Jorgenson wins solo A Travers la Flanders!
The American brings positive things to the Visma-Lease a Bike team after Wout Van Aert retired following a heavy fall. #lequipeVELO pic.twitter.com/Qez8rukw1P
— the L’Équipe channel (@lachainelequipe) March 27, 2024
After a few seconds of shock, I tried with all my strength to get out of it, continues the 24-year-old runner. When we arrived at the foot of Kanarieberg, I felt a certain responsibility to honor the plan we had. The hours of work, the planning, the nights and mornings of work of our staff and of course all the teammates who had spent 150 kilometers tearing through the wind to get us in front... Why would I let all that go to waste? We had already lost our leader, our strongest rider and the heart of our classics team, so should we throw in the towel?
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…
— Matteo Jorgenson (@MatteoJorg) March 28, 2024
“I am proud of the way Tiesj Benoot and I continued to fight and I hope we honored the demonstration that Wout van Aert planned to give,” concludes the American. The latter will be one of the best assets, with the Belgian Tiesj Benoot, of the Dutch team on Sunday at the Tour of Flanders.
The main favorite will be Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), impressive winner of the E3 Grand Prix on Friday, and twice winner (2020, 2022) of the Flemish classic. Another of the favorites, the Dane Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), was also involved in Wednesday's crash.