"He made himself vulnerable": Jan Bakelants points out Wout Van Aert's greatest mistake at Wevelgem

The past Sunday has been a throwback to the pre-Pogacar classics era when we followed closely which of the cyclocross duo Wout Van Aert-Mathieu van der Poel would prevail on the cobbles. And the 2026 In Flanders Fields - From Middelkerke to Wevelgem provided us with another of these traditional duels, even though neither of the two men triumphed at the end of the day.

It was a spectacular performance in particular from the Belgian rider who displayed a level not too far off his best in order to hang on to his Dutch rival over the Kemmelberg. Meanwhile their breakaway colleague Florian Vermeersch lost contact and never managed to reconnect with the leading duo despite a rather impressive chase.

According to former pro Jan Bakelants, distancing Vermeersch might've just been the nail in the coffin for Van Aert's ambitions. Meanwhile Van der Poel could lean back on sprinter Jasper Philipsen to finish off the job as a back-up plan.

"Wout van Aert set his own trap," Bakelants analyzed the decisive moments of the race for HLN. "He made himself vulnerable by not riding the E3 Saxo Classic, which meant he needed a result on Sunday. Van der Poel did not have that same need."

It was also with a bit of luck, that the Dutchman had finished off his 40-kilometer solo two days prior. But that changes nothing about the situation heading into Sunday's race where Van Aert had to push an extra gear to catch up to his rival.

"By teasing Van der Poel a little and having him sit on half-strength in the wheel, Wout was checkmated. He had to keep riding at 110 per cent, otherwise they were always going to get caught."

That leads the Belgian analyst to believe that Alpecin-Premier Tech knowingly accepted the risk that they might not win the race that way. "But in doing so, they were still able to hurt Van Aert one more time," he concluded. "They happily accepted the tactical opportunity offered to them by Team Van Aert."

According to Bakelants, the fact that Alpecin-Premier Tech are still fixated on Van Aert is ultimately a compliment. "It shows they take him seriously as a possible winner."

Still, he believes Van Aert lacks something to really take on Van der Poel or Pogacar. And then there are other contenders such as Mads Pedersen, and most recently also Florian Vermeersch whose level appears to be not that far from Van Aert's. "You can put Florian Vermeerschalongside them at the moment too. He has taken a huge step," Bakelants said.

In his view, Visma | Lease a Bike should even have allowed the UAE rider to return to the leaders rather than leave him dandling within sight for next 15 kilometers. "If he can sit there for that long at fifteen seconds, then alarm bells should start ringing. He was there, ready to be used."

Bakelants therefore wonders whether Visma | Lease a Bike deliberately chose not to let Vermeersch return. "Vermeersch gets on extremely well with Van der Poel. That is also another consequence of not riding E3. If you see your colleagues every week, you automatically grow closer," he points out.