Preview: Anything can happen at the Tour of Flanders

The cycling world now turns its attention to the Tour of Flanders, or De Ronde, this Sunday, following a tumultuous Dwars door Vlaanderen which saw Visma-Lease a Bike's dominant Classics squad significantly impacted. Wout van Aert, the team's primary leader, suffered a fractured collarbone and several broken ribs in a high-speed crash, ruling him out of De Ronde and Paris-Roubaix. His teammate Jan Tratnik also sustained injuries, while Jasper Stuyven (Lidl-Trek) and Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty) were also among the significant casualties.

This sudden turn of events reshapes the entire dynamic of the Ronde van Vlaanderen. Visma-Lease a Bike, previously seen as almost unassailable, now faces a monumental challenge, losing their top two options and forcing a strategic pivot to riders like Matteo Jorgenson, who impressively won DDV, and Dylan van Baarle. This opens the door for Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), now the undisputed favourite, and a host of other contenders who previously might have been fighting for minor placings.

So, the "anything can happen" mantra for Flanders has, rather ironically, already proven true before the start gun. Visma's meticulously crafted spring campaign lies in tatters; the peloton, meanwhile, smells blood.