Flanders crashes will keep several top riders out for weeks

Both the men's and women's Tour of Flanders on Sunday saw a higher-than-usual rate of crashes, particularly in the earlier going as crosswinds played a role. Post-race, a number of prominent names popped up on the injured list and will be out of action for some time. The women's peloton was hit hardest, as Marlen Reusser (Movistar), Kim le Court Pienaar (AG Insurance-Soudal), Elena Cecchini (SD Worx-Protime), Victoire Berteau (Cofidis) and Caroline Anderson (Liv AlUla Jayco) all sustained fractures. Reusser's is the worst: She suffered fractured vertebrae that will keep her away from racing for as long as two months. Le Court Pienaar (wrist, five weeks) and Anderson and Berteau (arm fractures, 6 weeks) will also be out for the rest of spring. On the men's side, Matteo Trentin (Tudor) was enjoying a strong ride when a crash at 40 km to go ended his Flanders with a broken collarbone; again, the rest of his spring one-day campaign is done.