Ineos Grenadiers had a day to forget in Sunday's Tour de Flanders, as Ben Turner broke his arm in a crash and leader Tom Pidcock suffered a hunger knock instead of a top 20 finish.

The Englishman came into the race in the best shape of the leading contenders after the "big three" of Tadej Pogachar, Mathieu van der Pol, and Wout van Aert. However, he finished the day in 52nd place, eight minutes behind Pogachar, who, along with Julien Alaphilippe, was the sole winner.

Pidcock took to Instagram (opens in new tab) on Monday morning to assess Sunday's run, praising the team but admitting that he made a "stupid mistake" by not eating enough during the 274-km race.

"They did really well yesterday," he said. 'Unfortunately, I didn't repay them. Everything was mint until I was hungry and panting."

"I'm surprised I made it to the finish. Stupid mistake, but there's always next year. Ben Turner, get well soon." [He suffered a concussion in Tirreno-Adriatico and missed not only Milano-Sanremo but also the E3 Saxo Classic.

Nevertheless, the 23-year-old did take an impressive solo win at Strade Bianche, a title and stage win at the Volta Ao Algarve that contributed to his early season success.

And now he has a mountain race challenge ahead of him: the Brabantspaille, Amstel Gold Race, La Flèche Wallonne, and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Pidcock won in Brabantse two years ago, but before that he missed out on victory in a photo finish in Amstel.

"I'll be home for a couple of weeks and then back to the Ardennes," Pidcock concluded his post.

Last season, Pidcock and his teammates were among the spring's top riders, leading a young team to wins in Brabantspaille, Amstel Gold Race, Paris-Roubaix, and a second in Flanders.

Pidcock's fifth place in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Filippo Ganna's tenth in the E3 are his best results so far in this race.

The team will be without Turner for this Sunday's Paris-Roubaix race, and last spring's winner, Dylan van Baarle, is now with Jumbo Visma. Ganna and 20-year-old American rider Magnus Sheffield will lead the British team in the finale of the cobbled classic.