Dylan van Baarle suffers a serious crash in training just days before his wedding to Pauline Ferrand-Prévot

Dylan van Baarle suffered a traffic accident this Wednesday while training in Tiel, Netherlands. The Dutch rider from Soudal Quick-Step was taken to the hospital after colliding with a car and medical tests have ruled out injuries to the skull and spine. He does have a wrist fracture that will require surgery and that prematurely ends his 2026 season.

In addition to the sporting aspect, the news has gained even more relevance due to the timing of the incident. Van Baarle and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot are set to marry in just a few days, after the Frenchwoman explained last weekend that in two weeks she would become "Mrs. Van Baarle." The couple announced their engagement in September 2025.

The helmet "definitely saved his life"

Ferrand-Prévot has provided some of the most concerning details of the accident. According to her explanation on social media, Van Baarle suffered a strong impact to the head and was immediately taken to the hospital.

"He received a strong blow to the head. The helmet definitely saved his life."

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The Frenchwoman added that her partner also suffered a fracture in his arm and that he would be operated on the following day. Subsequently, the medical report published by Soudal Quick-Step specified that it is a wrist fracture that requires surgical intervention. 

The most important news, however, came after the CT scan performed at the hospital. The tests ruled out injuries to the skull and spine, which is especially reassuring considering the violence of the impact described by Ferrand-Prévot. 

"I am really grateful that, all things considered, things have turned out quite well," wrote the French champion after a day she described as "horrible, long, and stressful."

Van Baarle was scheduled to compete this Sunday, October 11, in the Paris-Tours, where he was still listed in the Soudal Quick-Step lineup alongside riders like Tim Merlier, Jasper Stuyven, and Yves Lampaert. The accident definitively ends that program and his season. 

Another setback for Van Baarle after several years marked by injuries

The accident represents a new complicated episode for Dylan van Baarle, who in recent years has repeatedly had to deal with falls and injuries.

The 2024 season was practically shattered by bad luck. After missing part of the spring, a fall in the Critérium du Dauphiné caused him a collarbone fracture that kept him out of the Tour de France. Just a few weeks later, he returned for the Vuelta a España, but fell again in the second stage and suffered a hip fracture. 

The beginning of 2025 was also not easy. In his first race of the year, the Tour Down Under, he fractured his collarbone again. Nevertheless, he managed to rebuild his season and ended up being an important part of Visma | Lease a Bike both in the Giro d'Italia won by Simon Yates and in the Vuelta conquered by Jonas Vingegaard. He also finished second in the Dutch National Time Trial Championship. 

That series of problems was one of the reasons that led him to seek a change of scenery and sign with Soudal Quick-Step for 2026. The Dutchman acknowledged then that he needed a new stimulus after several seasons affected by illnesses and injuries.

His first campaign with the Wolfpack has not yet brought a victory, although he was again second in the Dutch National Time Trial Championship, competed in the entire classics campaign, and completed the Tour de France. In the spring, he finished 30th in the Tour of Flanders and 82nd in a Paris-Roubaix that he had won in 2022.

His last competition before the accident was the Tour de Luxembourg, which he finished on September 20 in 31st place overall.

A wedding after a complicated season for both

The accident comes just as Van Baarle and Ferrand-Prévot were beginning to leave competition behind to focus on their wedding.

The Frenchwoman's season had already ended weeks earlier. After a spectacular full return to the road in 2025, when she won Paris-Roubaix and the Tour de France Femmes, 2026 proved to be much more difficult. Still, she started the spring with a second place in the Tour of Flanders and was third in Paris-Roubaix, as well as seventh in La Flèche Wallonne.

The main goal was to fight again for the Tour de France Femmes, but she never found her best sensations and ultimately did not start in the eighth stage after falling ill. Visma Lease a Bike later confirmed that she would not compete again in 2026 to focus on resting and recovering.

Ferrand-Prévot explained just a few days ago that she was ready to experience "the best day of my life" and that in about two weeks she would become Mrs. Van Baarle.

Now, Pauline ended her message with resignation and good humor: "I will be sleeping alone for a few nights, but I guess that's the tradition before the big wedding day."