Earlier this morning Filippo Pozzato, the hot semi-favorite for Sunday's Tour of Flanders and then-leader of the Driedaagse de Panne overall, went down in a crash 3km from the finish in today's circuit race around De Panne. As a result, he lost his overall lead and as promised did not compete in the closing time trial, preferring to rest for Sunday. This story is a few hours old, and all reports so far (CN, Gazzetta) are that he suffered no real injuries. However, given his importance to de Ronde, and vice versa, I wanted to open a post for when updates come in. Any cuts or deep bruises could compromise his form for Sunday, whereas a little road rash presumably won't matter. If this post disappears it's because this winds up being a non-story. Stay tuned, or keep us informed if you hear anything.
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