Not only Wout van Aert, whole Visma is as if paralyzed by fear of crashing: "That's also why Vingegaard didn't go to Itzulia"
Cycling
There are not many reasons for happiness in the best team of 2023 - Visma | Lease a Bike. While Jonas Vingegaard is once again injured, the team's other star Wout van Aert was only a shadow of his past self at the cobbled Classics with merely places of honour. And the sky isn't more blue across the rest of Dutch formation.
Jeroen Vanbelleghem is the first to question Van Aert's statements about 'bad form' in discussion on Kop over Kop show. "Finally, Wout van Aert was well positioned, in the Forest of Wallers, and then he stops his legs two or three times. Afterwards he said, 'I didn't have good legs'. But if you stop your legs, it's not because you don't have good legs."
Bobbie Traksel even thought that Van Aert had a flat tire in the Forest of Wallers. "That's what we were hoping for." Jan Hermsen counters that there was certainly something slowing down the Belgian, but not his bike: "It seemed like there was a brake somewhere in his head."
Of course, it could have everything to do with the earlier shock Van Aert experienced while exploring the cobblestones in the Forest of Wallers. He suddenly got a flat tire and could barely stay upright. At almost the same point in the race, he slowed down and fell further behind Van der Poel and Pogacar, among others.
Paralyzed by fear
According to Traksel, there is not only fear in Van Aert, but in the entire Team Visma | Lease a Bike. "They do not only give that fear to Van Aert, but also to Dylan van Baarle, where it is very clear to see. Also to Vingegaard."
There was one too many crashes for Visma leaders in last year and a half. "Fear was the reason Vingegaard didn't go to the Itzulia Basque Country. If you have a few riders in the team with fear like that, it only grows bigger."
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling for
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- People see what they want to. I am actually the opposite of your accusation, probably more of a rebel than most of you who don’t get the big picture. The difference is, I don’t go moaning publicly about the consequences of my transgressions, I understand the need for rules and I take my OWN responsibility when deciding to ignore or break them or doing so involuntarily. I will also not hesitate to state my case or argue vehemently when relevant, sometimes it works, sometimes it makes things worse but that’s the price to pay for principles and having character.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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