The driver who struck Trek rider Jesse Sergent at the 2015 Tour of Flanders has been handed a 150 euro fine by Belgian magistrates.
Sergent had made it in to the day’s main breakaway at the Flandrian Monument, before he was taken down by a Shimano neutral service car that was trying to pass the escape group on the left hand side knocked the New Zealander to the right as they took a bend. Sergent was unable to continue the race and spent time on the sidelines following the crash, returning four months later at the Tour de Wallonie.
Shimano issued an apology for the incident, as well as another collision in the same race which saw Sebastian Chavanel hit by another neutral service car.
While no action came from the Chavanel incident, the driver who took down Sergent was prosecuted and has appeared at a magistrates court in the city of Oudenaarde. He was handed a 150 euro fine for the offence and told Het Laatste Nieuws “that day will stay with me for the rest of my life.” The man was reported to be a 44-year-old chief inspector with the police.
Sergent called time his career in 2016 at the age of just 28, having joined French squad Ag2r La Mondiale for the 2016 season. The double Olympic medallist struggled to regain form after the injury, but cited lack of enjoyment for pulling away from the sport.
“My decision was pretty simple really; I just stopped enjoying the racing, the training, the lifestyle,” Sergent told Radio Sport earlier this year. “Over time it just got more and more and slowly ate away at me.”
