“I tried everything… I was really dying” – Wout van Aert falls 150m short as Classics heartbreak strikes again at Dwars door Vlaanderen 2026

Wout van Aert came within touching distance of a long-awaited return to winning ways, only for victory to slip from his grasp in the final metres of Dwars door Vlaanderen 2026.

After a race that exploded early and never fully settled, the Belgian forced a decisive move on the Eikenberg, committing to a long-range attack that briefly looked set to end his three-year wait for a major spring victory.

Instead, it was Filippo Ganna who timed his effort to perfection, closing down the lone leader inside the final kilometre before surging past to take the win in Waregem.

For Van Aert, it was a painfully familiar outcome. “I tried everything and was really dying,” he said after the finish. “It would have been nice if the finish was 150 metres earlier, but this is racing.”

“It’s of course frustrating when you’re so close," he also said. "You believe for an hour that you can win the race, and then it slips through your fingers in the final ten seconds.”

From the outset, the race followed a relentless pattern. Early attacks came thick and fast, with no group allowed to settle until a strong breakaway finally formed around halfway through the opening phase. Among those up the road were Christophe Laporte, Mads Pedersen, Florian Vermeersch and Tobias Lund Andresen, while several major teams, including Alpecin and INEOS, were left chasing.

Crashes and mechanical issues added further disruption. Dylan Teuns and Jenno Berckmoes were both forced out after an early incident, while Wout van Aert himself needed a bike change in the opening kilometres before rejoining the peloton.

As the race moved into the hill zone, the gap to the breakaway steadily came down under pressure from the peloton, with INEOS among the teams driving the pace. The repeated accelerations over the likes of the Knokteberg and Hotond began to thin the field, setting the stage for a more selective finale.

The decisive moment came on the Eikenberg, where Van Aert launched a sharp acceleration that immediately split the race. Only a handful of riders could respond, with Romain Grégoire and Niklas Larsen initially able to follow as the Belgian forced clear.

“I felt the tempo drop and knew I had to go alone,” Van Aert explained. “After the Eikenberg I got to the front of the race with good companions, but I realised I had to make the difference myself. When I dropped Niklas with about ten kilometres to go, there was no way back. I tried to focus on my effort and not look behind, but in the end the race was 150 metres too long.”

What followed was a committed solo effort, backed by strong roadside support as the Flemish crowds sensed a long-awaited home victory. Behind, however, the chase never fully collapsed. Ganna in particular drove the pursuit, repeatedly increasing the tempo and preventing the gap from stabilising.

Despite pushing the advantage out towards 40 seconds at one point, Van Aert’s lead began to fall rapidly inside the final 20 kilometres as the chasing groups reorganised.

Inside the final 10 kilometres, the race tightened dramatically. Larsen was dropped, leaving Van Aert alone against a charging group behind. The gap hovered between 10 and 20 seconds as the Italian powerhouse Ganna led the pursuit.

Van Aert continued to accelerate out of corners and over the final cobbled sectors, but the effort was taking its toll. “I thought it would be enough,” he admitted. “I didn’t want to look back, but after the final corner I saw a wheel next to me. I believed in it until I saw a wheel next to me.”

That wheel belonged to Ganna, who completed the catch in the closing metres before powering clear to take victory, leaving Van Aert to settle for second place once again. “I already knew I had good legs. I came here to win the race, that didn’t happen, but I’m still happy with my form.”

It marked another cruel twist in a race that has repeatedly denied him. A year on from being outmanoeuvred in a numerical advantage, Van Aert had taken responsibility for the finale himself, only to be caught within sight of the line. “It was a good race, one that opened up early,” he said. “There were moments where it slowed, and riders came back, but after the Eikenberg I rode a strong final.”

Strong, but not quite enough. Now, his focus turns quickly towards the next objective. “Now I’ll try to find that last bit of freshness and build towards Sunday. I’m ready for it, let it come.”