"Many teams wanted a defensive race" - Wout van Aert laments lack of attacks to make the difference at Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne
Cycling
Wout van Aert is a rider that due to his popularity also receives a lot of criticism. After Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne he certainly won't receive this over lack of attacking, but the defending champion didn't see the stars align in a race that was ultimately ruled by the sprinters.
“There wasn’t more in it in terms of result. Did my legs feel the way I wanted? Yes, they did. But many teams wanted a defensive race, so that made it difficult," van Aert said in words to Het Laatste Nieuws after the race. Visma had a disappointing Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, where more than anything else, it seemed as if the Belgian struggled with positioning in some crucial moments.
Today in Kuurne, where he was the defending champion, he launched at least two powerful attacks. The first of which he was followed, and in the second one (on the final climb of the day) he was followed by Roger Adriá of BORA, who then refused to work to try and bridge across to the front group.
“I played a bit then of course. I knew that I would never ride there alone. I had to keep trying to convince him to ride in front," he describes. "At first I was also told that Meeus was no longer in the group, so I didn't understand it well. But afterwards I saw that Jordi was there. Then it is an understandable tactic. To have a slightly better chance, we should have been in that leading group."
The Dutch team raced offensively, but in the end the race wasn't selective enough for that scenario to win as in the previous two editions where Team Visma | Lease a Bike took the victory. Van Aert then supported the team's Plan B, Olav Kooij, to the inevitable bunch sprint.
"I am more satisfied than yesterday. We had come for more, but today we knew that such a scenario was possible. We had Olav with us for that and he sprinted to a great second place. We tried," he concluded. Next up is an altitude camp for the Belgian, who will go away from the spotlight for a few weeks whilst Tadej Pogacar and Mathieu van der Poel make their European season debut in a week's time.
Roger Adria ne roulait pas avec Wout Van Aert et le duo va se faire reprendre à 50km. La Visma-Lease a Bike peut compter sur Olav Kooij en vue d'un sprint aujourd'hui. Il sera difficile d'échapper à un sprint massif au vu de la situation désormais. #KBK25 pic.twitter.com/4FCn3WJM9B
— Le Gruppetto (@LeGruppetto) March 2, 2025
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
claps 1visitors 1
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment