Bahrain-Victorious rider apologises for causing huge Tour of Flanders crash: 'This should not happen'

The Bahrain-Victorious rider Filip Maciejuk has issued an apology for causing a huge crash at the Tour of Flanders that led to both Peter Sagan and Tim Wellens abandoning.

Following a rapid first 130km of racing, the Polish rider crashed into the front of the peloton after riding into a deep puddle on the side of the road.

The 23 year old was flanking the left side of the peloton as he tried to make his way up to the head of the bunch, but once he rejoined the road he rode straight into Wellens and provoked a massive pile-up.

Julian Alaphilippe of Soudal-QuickStep was one of the first to fall, while Wout van Aert of Jumbo-Visma also hit the ground. Both were OK to continue in the race, but Wellens of UAE-Team Emirates and Sagan of TotalEnergies were unable to.

Shortly afterwards Maciejuk was disqualified from the race, and he took to Twitter to apologise for the incident.

He wrote: “I’m really sorry for my mistake and causing the crash today. I hope all those involved are in good health and safe. This should not happen and was a big error in my judgement.

“I had no intention of causing this. All I can do now is apologise for my mistake and learn from this in the future. Sorry again to the peloton, my teammates and the fans.”

Maciejuk was riding his second De Ronde after finishing 84th in 2022. He joined Bahrain-Victorious and the WorldTour tanks last year. His best result as a professional so far is fourth in the Polish Time Trial Championships last June.

Prior to signing for Bahrain-Victorious, he twice won the GC in the Carpathian Couriers Race in Poland.

He is regarded as one of his country’s burgeoning promises, and has formed a key part of his team’s Classics campaign this spring. His best result was 45th at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne.