Stijn Steels suffers broken bones in shocking Ghent Six pileup

Belgian rider caught up in heavy crash in the velodrome and taken away on a stretcher

Stijn Steels
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Belgian rider Stijn Steels has suffered three broken ribs, two broken vertebrae and a lung contusion after a heavy crash at Ghent Six last night in the opening madison. 

Steel’s road team Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl confirmed the extent of his injuries this morning on social media, but said that no surgery or further intervention was required. 

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Tom Thewlis
News and Features Writer

After previously working in higher education, Tom joined Cycling Weekly in 2022 and hasn't looked back. He's been covering professional cycling ever since; reporting on the ground from some of the sport's biggest races and events, including the Tour de France, Paris-Roubaix and the World Championships. His earliest memory of a bike race is watching the Tour on holiday in the early 2000's in the south of France - he even made it on to the podium in Pau afterwards. His favourite place that cycling has taken him is Montréal in Canada.