"So many narrowings and obstacles in the road are not necessary. Unbelievable!" - Team Visma | Lease a Bike fume after multitude of E3 Saxo Classic crashes

On a crash-filled day of drama at the 2024 E3 Saxo Classic, the best Team Visma | Lease a Bike could achieve was a podium finish through Wout van Aert, who bounced back from a crash himself late on in the race.

Van Aert wasn't the only Visma rider to hit the wet cobbles hard however, the incidents started early with Per Strand Hagenes crashing out of the race with a broken nose before the Discovery+ TV coverage had even started rolling.

"On a new section of course, which it is unimaginable to include in the race. That road they drove on in Waregem was a new section of course, which is absolutely no improvement," fumes Team Visma | Lease a Bike sports director, Arthur Van Dongen in a post-race interview with In de Leiderstrui. "Everyone talks about safety in cycling, but you should stay away from it. So many narrowings and obstacles in the road are not necessary at all. On the Waregem ring road, where the big crash also took place. Unbelievable. But apparently there are still safety managers who see the course differently than I do."

These bad roads are the fault of the crashes, Van Dongen insists, not the tire pressures of the Visma team's bike. "We often ride with these tyre pressures in these weather conditions, so I don't think so. If you have raced yourself, you know that all kinds of small manoeuvres can lead to this setback," he says. "We now have to lick the wounds and then make a plan for who will ride where."