BRUSSELS -- World champion Julian Alaphilippe underwent successful surgery on his right hand on Monday following his season-ending crash at the Tour of Flanders one-day classic race.

The Frenchman broke two bones in the hand after hitting a motorbike about 35 kilometres from the finish on Sunday.

Alaphilippe was part of a three-man breakaway, and the incident left Dutch rider Mathieu van der Poel to edge Belgium's Wout van Aert in a sprint for the win.

Alaphilippe's team, Deceuninck Quick-Step, said, "Everything went well for the world champion."

He will be able to resume training in three weeks when the cast protecting his hand will be removed, the Belgian squad said.

"The crash was a scary moment, and when I found myself on the ground I thought of the worse," Alaphilippe said. "Fortunately, it's not that bad."