"When I saw Wout crying on the asphalt, my heart broke into pieces" - Nathan van Hooydonck

Nathan van Hooydonck was one of Wout van Aert's right-hand men and best friends in the peloton. Obviously it was a heartbreak for Team Visma | Lease a Bike to see him retire from cycling at the end of last year due to heart issues, but the Belgian also suffered a heartbreak now when Wout van Aert crashed at Dwars door Vlaanderen.

"When I saw that terrible crash on TV in the car. To be honest, I really wasn't happy with it. When I saw Wout crying on the asphalt, my heart broke into pieces," van Hooydonck said in words to In de Leiderstrui. "I got out of the car and told my guests to leave me alone for a while. I wanted to be on my own. And I wouldn't have been the only one. If you haven't been in the peloton, it's hard to imagine, but all that work from November until now was all about the next two Sundays. All those sacrifices, all those efforts: suddenly it's all for nothing."

A huge blow for the Dutch team, who had already previously lost Christophe Laporte and Jan Tratnik when it comes to contention for the cobbled monument that's taking place this Sunday. Van Hooydonck focuses on his former teammate however and worries about the consequences it may have in his career. "And Wout was ready. Also that: a crash like that could determine his career. If he had been able to win one of those two classics, Ronde or Roubaix, everything could have been different."

"All the whining that he still hasn't won a cobblestone monument had been dismissed. Now he has to wait at least one year longer. That is what concerns me most: the physical damage is very great, but the mental damage is even greater," he adds.

This comes after two years ago where he missed Flanders due to Covid-19 infection, and last year when he punctured when attacking Paris-Roubaix near it's finale. "That is the big difference with two years ago when Wout contracted Covid just before the Tour of Flanders and also had to forfeit. I was there and I can still see myself clutching my hair: how are we ever going to win that race?"

"Then the team is in a different position today. However, doubts remain. Has Van Baarle fully recovered from his illness? Has Benoot suffered all the physical suffering after his fall in the E3 Harelbeke? But if the answer is yes twice, and you also have a super Matteo Jorgenson, you still have three riders who can win the Tour of Flanders."

On the race itself, van Hooydonck believes there is not much that can be done against Alpecin-Deceuninck and Mathieu van der Poel, who are the figures to beat in this race and are missing several of their rivals. "If Alpecin-Deceunick can keep the race under control, Van der Poel will be in good hands. The moved pawn in the leading group can also - as I did last year for Wout - drop down to help Van der Poel for a while."

"While Van der Poel himself is so strong on the Oude Kwaremont that he can easily make up three quarters of a minute on his own. And I am convinced of that: if Van der Poel starts among the first for the last time at Oude Kwaremont, no one will be able to stop him. Van der Poel is a killer. Then the Tour of Flanders is for him," he concluded.