Another rider is on the bench, it seems. There were a lot of crashes this weekend, at both Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, in both the women’s and men’s races, as well as Kuurne Brussels Kuurne on Sunday.
According to Sporza, Tim Wellens had already pointed out before the race where he expected things to explode. “At about 90km, everyone wants to be at the front and you get a stampede. That’s the key moment when the nerves really kick in,” Wellens said.
The race played out just as Wellens had predicted, but he wasn’t spared from the chaos. While jockeying for position at a gentle right-hand curve, he lost control and skidded across the asphalt and hit the deck hard.
Medical update on Tim Wellens
Clearly in pain, Wellens hobbled away from the road. As he threw off his helmet he reached for his collarbone. When a cyclist goes for their collarbone right away, it’s an obvious tell: it’s probably broken. Sure enough, his team later confirmed the news.
“We can share the following medical update on Tim Wellens’ crash at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne,” a post read. “Dr. Adrian Rotunno, the team’s medical director confirms that unfortunately Tim Wellens sustained a right clavicle fracture today.”
UAE said the Belgian champion will undergo surgery this evening before beginning a recovery period at home under the supervision of team medical staff.
Omloop of crashes
On Saturday, with the slick roads and nervous bunch, there were lots of crashes. One of the more dramatic ones involved Rick Pluimers of Tudor Pro Cycling. He slipped out on the wet cobbles on the Molenberg. Somehow Mathieu van der Poel avoided it. How, even the Alpecin-Premier Tech rider doesn’t know. “I have no idea,” he said after. “I want to say sorry to the rider from Tudor because I almost rode over his head. I had nowhere to go.”
The damage wasn’t van der Poel’s fellow Dutchman’s limbs, thankfully, rather his teeth.
“I immediately felt that my teeth were gone,” the Tudor rider said to Wielerflits. “I had just come off the top of a cobble when I felt my front wheel slip. I hit the ground with my face.”
Thankfully, a quick trip to the dentist fixed that up and Pluimers is all smiles. Given some of the many crashes this year — and injured riders — he seems to be lucky. There’s a long list of pros on the Injured List right now, and with Wellens, there’s one more.
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Canadian Cycling Magazine…