Mathieu van der Poel rolls across finish of Le Samyn with a snapped handlebar 

The Dutch road champion was leading the front group into the final straight but wasn’t able to sprint for the win due to the mechanical 

canyon aeroad stop ride handlebar failure
(Image credit: Belga/AFP via Getty Images)

Mathieu van der Poel was forced to sit up in the final of Le Samyn 2021 as his handlebars snapped, taking him out of the sprint finish.  

The Dutch national champion looked to be favourite to take the victory from a reduced bunch sprint in the Belgian one-day race, as the leading riders entered the pivotal final kilometres. 

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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.