Stig Broeckx crashed hard yesterday at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne after he was hit by a motorbike about 30 kilometres from the finish. The Lotto Soudal rider has a fractured collarbone, a fractured rib and a bruised hand. Yesterday evening Broeckx underwent surgery in Deinze. This afternoon he could go home. The rider will have to skip the spring races.

During the chase on the front group Lotto Soudal rider Stig Broeckx moved to the right of the road after pulling at the front to take a look at the riders in the group when he got hit by a motor rider that was passing the group of riders. Lotto Soudal regrets the collision and the speed of the motorbike while passing by the group of riders. The team emphasizes that the road was wide enough and wonders if the motor rider should have been in that place at that time.

The team has lost an important rider who was part of the Classics core and who did a great job on Saturday and Sunday. Yesterday evening Lotto Soudal filed a complaint. The team and rider await the further investigation.

Lotto Soudal hopes that after the succession of events the past few months and because of what happened yesterday during Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne the theme ‘safety’ won’t only be further discussed between organisations, teams and their interest groups, federations and the international cycling union, but that concrete measures will be taken to increase the safety of the riders.