Belgian rider Van Aert damaged lung in crash

Wout Van Aert, who had already been diagnosed with a broken collarbone, sternum and ribs after his crash in the Around Flanders one-day cycling race, also injured a lung, his team said on Friday.

"Wout also has a bruised lung. A scan will take place in a few weeks' time. We'll know what's really going on then. It's complicating his breathing. Something like that recovers with time, but it's obvious that he's in pain," said Merijn Zeeman, technical director of Visma-Lease a Bike, at a press briefing ahead of Paris-Roubaix.

As for the rest of his injuries, Van Aert is "recovering faster than expected" following last week's crash.

"He's already walking a bit. We had contact this morning," continued Zeeman.

"I'm surprised at how quickly he's recovering. When I see how that terrible burn on his back is healing, you can see that these are very special athletes."

Zeeman refused to give a date for the return to competition of the Belgian, who had planned to ride the Giro d'Italia in May.

His team-mate and stage race leader Jonas Vingegaard, who also broke bones and damaged a lung in a crash on Thursday in the Tour of the Basque Country, would prefer to see him in the Tour de France, which Van Aert had not planned to ride.