"Without that bad luck, Wout had a very good chance of winning" - Plugge rues Wout van Aert's Paris-Roubaix disaster

Wout van Aert had very good form throughout the spring. He won the E3 Saxo Classic but in his main goals, the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, he couldn't turn his form into a win. In Roubaix a puncture wrecked his chances, and team manager Richard Plugge hasn't forgotten the difficult moment.

“We were closest to it in Roubaix. We just had bad luck there. Without that bad luck, Wout had a very good chance of winning. If you puncture the Carrefour de l'Arbre, it's too late. That is so close to the finish that you cannot recover anything," Plugge told Het Laatste Nieuws. “It is true that the Ronde and Roubaix were our main goals. If that doesn't work, that's disappointing. But on the other hand: the rest of the spring makes up for a lot. We were unlucky in Roubaix. And in the Tour of Flanders, Pogacar was the very best.”

Whilst Flanders was decided on the climbs, the flat terrain of Roubaix favoured van Aert more. He initiated the decisive attack and then attacked once again at Carrefour de l'Arbre. He seemed to have the legs to take to the velodrome in position to win, but a puncture took him out at the end of the sector. Christophe Laporte suffered the same fate at the Trouée d'Arenberg.

“Puncture is a puncture. Losing because you have a puncture is completely different from losing because you are not good enough. In the end it's all about winning. Wout just rode well in Roubaix. I may not say it, but I think he was the strongest at Carrefour de l'Arbre," Plugge argues.

On Christophe Laporte, who is reported to have already renewed with Jumbo-Visma until 2026, Plugge commented: “We are talking to him. If he stays with us it will be because he is one of the best riders the peloton has. He can be used in many areas, in the classic season and in the Tour.”