On Sunday, the Belgian Road Race returns to Wielsbeke. Johan Vansummeren is also returning to the spot where he crashed hard into a spectator during the Tour of Flanders. "I ‘m trying not to think about it," said the Garmin rider.
It was perhaps one of the most unforgettable images from the last Tour of Flanders: Johan Vansummeren with high speed collided with a spectator in Wielsbeke. The victim was transported to hospital with a head injury and was a month in a medically induced coma.
While the riders again pass next to the site of the disaster, Vansummeren said “I will try to be as busy as possible so as to not think about it when we pass the site.”
"I also understand that the situation on Sunday will be different. Obviously we take the inside of the road so we can no longer pass on pavements. Fans will line both sides"
Vansummeren was deeply affected by the crash in Flanders. "I left everything back there. Myself, everything I wanted I said at the time. I have nothing more to add. I try not to be doing anything that could lead to a repeat of the incident."
"Nick Nuyens and I stand together in the race", says Vansummeren. "But we cant mark every attack. Anyway on a flat course it is such a lottery for us. Lotto-Belisol and Topsport Vlaanderen have no interest in keeping everything together. They will attack."
"There, Tom Boonen will not work and that will suit him. He will be tough to beat. I can not do more than hope for bad weather that could also play in my favor…"
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