"With Wout, it’s different; he’s just begun his block. So it wasn’t a tough decision. We stick to the plan we have with Wout," the team's sports director
Arthur van Dongen explains to In de Leiderstrui about Van Aert's Gent Wevelgem absence.
As for the recent disappointment at the
E3 Saxo Classic, Van Aert and Visma have analysed the race thoroughly in the days since. "A few things came up, but nothing alarming," explains Van Dongen. "As for Dwars door Vlaanderen and the
Tour of Flanders: of course, we would have liked to have
Olav Kooij (fractured his collarbone in a crash at Gent Wevelgem ed.) there on Wednesday, but Wout and
Matteo Jorgenson will be the leaders."
"If you look at how much bad luck Wout had last year and how he had to come back from a tough season…" adds Van Dongen, insistent that given time, the Belgian can certainly get back to competing for the win in the biggest races.
Speaking of competing for wins, despite some blows with disappointments and crashes for leaders Van Aert, Kooij and
Jonas Vingegaard this year already, Van Dongen is relatively happy with Visma's overall performance in 2025 to date. "We mustn’t forget that we already have twelve victories, with young riders like Matthew Brennan and Ben Tulett. And we’ve won races like the Algarve and Paris-Nice, so we can hold on to that," concludes the DS.