No good signs for Visma and Wout van Aert according to Jan Bakelants: "The whole team wasn’t at the level we’re used to"

The E3 Saxo Classic was a bad reminder of Team Visma | Lease a Bike's spring thus far, as in the decisive moments of the race the Dutch team were never truly in the fight for the win. Wout van Aert struggled, and no-one from the team managed to step in and be anywhere near Mathieu van der Poel who has consolidated himself alongside Tadej Pogacar as the main favourites for the Tour of Flanders next week.

"He came here to get a result, but that didn’t happen. The whole team wasn’t at the level we’re used to. Maybe Matteo Jorgenson was the exception. I also found their tactics a bit strange," Jan Bakelants said in words to VTM. Bad positioning saw van Aert not even be in the chasing group when the race exploded on the Taaienberg, and by the time he and Florian Vermeersch moved away from the peloton it was too late and also so far away from the front that the TV broadcast did not show it.

However for Bakelants, team tactics weren't the best either. "Why did Julien Vermote start pulling once the split between the two pelotons happened? That was very opportunistic and very bold. It also wears down your own teammates. I wouldn’t have done that," he says. "You also stir up dissatisfaction with other teams. Later on, at the Kortekeer, they didn’t bother to move up and just sat passively. Those are exactly the moments you need to seize to be up front."

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Because of that bad positioning, the team was put on the back foot after Mads Pedersen attacked with 80 kilometers to go. Bakelants, a training partner of van Aert, is not being able to fully see through the Belgian's level: "It’s hard to tell. I haven’t spoken to him lately and I wasn’t there during his altitude camp. He just needs to trust the process and adapt flexibly to the opportunities he has. I don’t think it would be crazy to race Gent Wevelgem on Sunday. A bit more race rhythm."

"You always think of the Van Aert we know from his amazing performances. So I’m not assuming he’s suddenly out of the picture. But there’s a lot of work to be done," José de Cauwer argues. "And the big question is whether he’ll be in form in time for the Tour of Flanders. They need to sit down with his coach soon and figure out how tired he really is. Or maybe there’s still room to build on. If so, then Dwars door Vlaanderen could still turn into a nice race for Van Aert."

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"This sport is not for p*ssies. This is a war" - Johan Bruyneel comments on Classic Brugge-De Panne crashes and Wout van Aert

Michele Bartoli scolds Wout van Aert in Milano-Sanremo absence: "When you expect something from him, he doesn't deliver"

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