What could possibly go WRONG? The 1987 Tour of Flanders
The 1987 Tour of Flanders is remembered for one of the strangest incidents in the race's history. On the Koppenberg, a young Danish rider named Jesper Skibby is riding the race of his life — alone in the lead for over 180 kilometers, with the peloton closing in behind him. As Skibby fights his way up the steep, cobbled climb, exhausted and losing his line, the race director's car moves to pass him and clear the road for the approaching pack. The car clips his wheel, then drives straight over his bike — destroying it completely. Skibby is left sitting on the cobbles, his race over, as the very officials running the event become the story. The incident is broadcast live and replayed for weeks. Race director Jacques Martens later explains his decision: years earlier, stopping his car in a similar moment had put him directly in Eddy Merckx's path — and he'd vowed never to stop again, whatever the cost. Claude Criquielion goes on to win the race solo over the Bosberg. But it's Skibby's crash that everyone remembers. The Koppenberg itself would be pulled from the Tour of Flanders for years afterward, only returning once the climb was rebuilt. A year later, Skibby and Martens meet again at a team presentation. Martens apologizes. Skibby's response is simple: what's done is done.
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