“It feels like someone is protecting Mathieu” – Visma hint at cruel imbalance shaping Van Aert–Van der Poel rivalry

For Team Visma | Lease a Bike, the rivalry between Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel has never been about talent. It has been shaped by timing, circumstance, and a growing sense that fortune has repeatedly tilted one way.

That frustration surfaced openly this week through the words of Visma sports director Robert Wagner, speaking to Radsport News. “Sometimes it seems as if someone is protecting Mathieu and nothing ever happens to him,” Wagner said, reflecting on how often Van Aert’s biggest objectives have been disrupted while his long-time rival has avoided similar setbacks.

The remark lands in a season already defined by disruption for Van Aert. His winter was derailed by the ankle fracture sustained in the Zilvermeercross in Mol, an injury that required surgery and brought his cyclocross campaign to an abrupt end. While his recovery has progressed quickly enough to keep the Spring Classics firmly in sight, it added yet another complication to a preparation that rarely seems to run cleanly.

That pattern has become familiar. Across recent seasons, Van Aert has navigated crashes, illness and ill-timed injuries, often arriving at the biggest cobbled races managing limitations rather than arriving with an uninterrupted build-up.

Wagner did not present this as an excuse, but as a reality that has increasingly defined Visma’s side of the rivalry. “And then, on the other hand, it feels like we are the ones who are hit hard,” he added, underlining the contrast between Van Aert’s interrupted paths and Van der Poel’s repeated ability to reach key moments with momentum intact.

Despite the latest injury, Visma remain convinced Van Aert will still be ready when it matters most. Wagner confirmed that the Belgian was able to fully participate in the team’s training camp, even while still in the rehabilitation phase following surgery.

“Wout is still in his rehabilitation phase and has a screw in his ankle,” Wagner explained. “But it was well treated and he could fully take part in the training camp. He is currently at altitude.”

The fact Van Aert was back on the bike shortly after his crash, and able to complete long training sessions during the Spanish camp, has reassured the team that the foundations for the classics remain intact, even if once again tested.

“Wout is a true professional,” Wagner said. “He has a physiotherapist and his team around him in Belgium. Everything is being done to make sure he is fit and stays fit.”

The Spring Classics will again bring together the sport’s defining figures. Van der Poel, Van Aert and Tadej Pogacar are all expected to line up, with Pogacar openly targeting Paris-Roubaix.

“If everything goes well, Wout will start the Tour of Flanders and especially Paris-Roubaix in good form,” Wagner said. “I expect the same from Mathieu. And we absolutely cannot forget Tadej Pogacar.”

Yet even as Visma look ahead, the sense persists that Van Aert’s battle is never only against rivals, but against circumstance itself.

“If it comes down to a fight between the titans,” Wagner concluded, “then I hope the cards finally fall in our favour and Wout wins Roubaix or Flanders. That would be fantastic.”

It is a sentiment that captures Visma’s position perfectly. Van Aert has never lacked the ability to match Van der Poel. What he has lacked, time and again, is the uninterrupted run that allows the rivalry to be settled on equal terms.