'I immediately felt that my teeth were gone' – Rick Pluimers takes unwilling centre stage at Omloop

A team car was waiting near the line to get him immediate treatment. 

Earlier, Pluimers had entered the first section of the Molenberg at the sharp end of the race, following Florian Vermeersch as the pace surged and the road funnelled into a narrow ribbon of cobbles. On the wet, polished stones, he lost traction and went down, landing face-first. “I immediately felt that my teeth were gone,” he said afterwards, speaking to WielerFlits.

The injury was obvious when he opened his mouth. Both front teeth were broken roughly halfway, and cuts on his face were visible. Pluimers stayed calm as he prepared for further checks. “It’s not too bad, fortunately. They probably broke in a good place, but I still need to go to the dentist. We’ll see there.”

The crash also had consequences beyond his own misfortune for the 25 year-old Dutchmen. The Molenberg is one of the race’s most decisive pressure points. Pluimers had been set up perfectly, ready to follow the strongest move of the favourites. When he hit the deck, it triggered a chain reaction: riders swerved and brakes were grabbed.

“I just slid away. I wanted to follow Florian [Vermeersch],” Pluimers said. “I had just come off the top of a cobble when I felt my wheel slip. Then I hit the ground with my face. That was really disappointing. I think a lot was possible today because I felt good. But if you crash, you can’t show that.”

He also apologised for the disruption behind him, which helped set up the decisive move after the Molenberg, with Vermeersch, Van der Poel, who pulled off a remarkable save to avoid him, and Mick van Dijke who went clear. “I would have preferred to put the race into a decisive situation in a different way,” he added. “It’s a shame. The Molenberg is an important moment in the race. If you crash there, you know you hold guys up. My apologies to those guys. I would rather have stayed on the bike.”

Initial feedback suggested the priority is dental repair, with only minor additional discomfort elsewhere. “We need to get the teeth fixed. That’s the priority at the moment,” the team said, while Pluimers noted, “My hand hurts a bit, but I think that’s okay.” 

The consolation was that the legs were there. “The feeling is good,” he said. “That’s nice, even if I would rather have ridden to the finish."

On Saturday night, Pluimers posted an update on social media thanking the dentist, who is the wife of a Tudor staff member, writing: “Got my teeth and smile back.”