Mathieu van der Poel crashes out of Three Days of De Panne

Just a few days after winning the Tour of Flanders, Van der Poel ended his season with a crash

Mathieu van der Poel (Photo by Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Mathieu van der Poel has crashed out of the Three Days of De Panne.

The Dutch star was riding in the lead group of the 188km one-day race in Belgium, with just 16km left to the finish.

While battling to stay out of the chaotic crosswinds, Van der Poel was pinched side of the road at fell at high speed into a ditch.

After lying in the ditch for a moment, Van der Poel was eventually helped to his feet but looked unsteady.

Shortly after news came through that the Alpecin-Fenix rider had abandoned the race, which was expected to be his last road event of 2020.

It's a disappointing end to the season for Van der Poel, who won his first Monument at the Tour of Flanders on Sunday, beating his great rival Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma).

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Alex Ballinger

Alex Ballinger is editor of BikeBiz magazine, the leading publication for the UK cycle industry, and is the former digital news editor for CyclingWeekly.com. After gaining experience in local newsrooms, national newspapers and in digital journalism, Alex found his calling in cycling, first as a reporter, then as news editor responsible for Cycling Weekly's online news output, and now as the editor of BikeBiz. Since pro cycling first captured his heart during the 2010 Tour de France (specifically the Contador-Schleck battle) Alex covered three Tours de France, multiple editions of the Tour of Britain, and the World Championships, while both writing and video presenting for Cycling Weekly. He also specialises in fitness writing, often throwing himself into the deep end to help readers improve their own power numbers.  Away from the desk, Alex can be found racing time trials, riding BMX and mountain bikes, or exploring off-road on his gravel bike. He’s also an avid gamer, and can usually be found buried in an eclectic selection of books.