Cycling fans often compare the toughness of pro cyclists to pro soccer players—known for their dramatic acting—and on Saturday at the Superprestige Gullegem, Dutch rider Lars van der Haar (Baloise–Trek Lions) certainly took one for the team.
Van der Haar was in his first race back after some knee problems made him skip several races. He was forced to DNS at Besançon, Baal, and Koksijde, but finally was able to compete at Gullegem.
In Saturday’s penultimate round of the 2024-2025 Superprestige series in Gullegem, Wout van Aert and Eli Iserbyt battled it out in an exciting race that came down to the final lap. Van Aert, starting from the third row, worked his way through the pack, eventually breaking away with Iserbyt. The two pushed each other hard, but a late mistake by Iserbyt gave van Aert the chance to pull ahead and take the win. Niels Vandeputte finished fifth, extending his lead in the overall standings and putting him in a strong position to take the series title with one race left.
Things were going pretty well for Van der Haar, sitting in the top five, until a crash knocked his previously dislocated shoulder out.
And being the consummate professional he is, he wasn’t going to just call it a day. Plus, it wasn’t the first time he’d re-dislocated his shoulder. People often redislocate their shoulders easily after multiple dislocations due to weakened ligaments and a looser joint capsule, which reduce stability and make the shoulder more prone to injury.
“There’s a problem there for Lars van der Haar,” Jez Cox of Eurosport, said. “It’s not the shoulder again, is it? I think it is I think what we have just seen, and we have seen it before, he is trying to put his shoulder back in.
So it’s safe to say he was familiar with the process. It’s one thing to do at home… but on the racecourse? Seems to be not a problem. Plus, he had his ad hoc medical device right with him—his saddle.
Check out the ole “put it back in while racing” trick below.
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