“I am very curious to see where I stand” - Wout van Aert returns to racing at the E3 Saxo Classic after altitude training camp

After finishing third at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and winning Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne over Opening Weekend at the end of February, Wout van Aert has not raced yet in the month of March, but has now returned to competition at the E3 Saxo Classic.

The Visma | Lease a Bike rider has been at an altitude training camp in Tenerife for the last month, skipping key races that he has previously won such as Strade Bianche and Milano-Sanremo, as he chose to concentrate on preparing for his key targets of the Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris-Roubaix.

On his return to racing, the Belgian rider said in an interview with WielerFlits that “I think it is a very nice race. After the altitude internship I am very curious to see where I stand. I have been feeling good all winter and have kept my big goals in mind”.

The E3 Saxo Classic will be Van Aert’s first big test on the road up against Mathieu van der Poel, who made his season debut at Milano-Sanremo last weekend. On the form of his main rival, Van Aert went on to say “I have only seen Mathieu in Milano-Sanremo. He looked very strong. I expect him to be at the front in the Flemish races. In the E3 Saxo Classic it will immediately become clear what the value ratios are”.

He will be without his teammate Christophe Laporte this weekend, with whom he took a one-two victory at this race in 2022, as he is still recovering from an illness that forced him to abandon Milano-Sanremo. On the absence of the Frenchman, Van Aert said “the fact that Christophe Laporte is not participating is of course a great loss. Hopefully a few days of rest will do him good for the rest of the classic season”.

Laporte is hoping to return at Dwars door Vlaanderen next week, as the team’s sports director Arthur van Dongen said “we hope that he can join the classic team again next week. A decision will be made today about his participation in Gent-Wevelgem . Perhaps this is still a bit too early. He and we hope that he will be available again on Wednesday in Dwars door Vlaanderen. Not being sick is one thing, but he must also be able to prepare well for the upcoming races”.