Wout van Aert and Team Visma | Lease a Bike not on the same page? "He still wanted to start in Gent Wevelgem"

Once again, Wout van Aert finds himself at the centre of attention, and once again, the headlines surrounding the Belgian are far from positive. Following a disappointing ending to an otherwise strong performance at Dwars door Vlaanderen, the scrutiny has only intensified.

In their post-race analysis, HLN revealed that Van Aert had expressed interest in riding Gent Wevelgem, only to be blocked from doing so by his coach at Team Visma | Lease a Bike. The team ultimately prioritised data and recovery over instinct and emotion.

“And it wasn't that there weren't any thoughts in his Kempen head,” HLN wrote. “On Friday in the E3 Saxo Classic he had hoped for a better race and result. Before the start of Dwars door Vlaanderen he indicated the fact that he wasn't good enough to win on Friday as 'not a matter of state', but internally he had seriously started to doubt the run-up to his two main goals on Friday evening.”

Van Aert reportedly approached his team about the possibility of adding Gent Wevelgem to his programme, despite it not being part of his original race schedule. The classic has not featured in his calendar in recent seasons due to the physical dip riders often experience five to six days after returning from altitude training.

“Within his team, Van Aert had asked whether it was an idea to ride Gent-Wevelgem after all. That race was not on his schedule last year and this year either, because you often get a physical setback five to six days after a long altitude training camp,” HLN reported.

There was room in the squad following the withdrawal of a sick rider, and Van Aert hoped the door might open for a late inclusion. However, the decision ultimately fell to Mathieu Heijboer, Van Aert’s coach and the team’s Performance Manager, who opted against it.

“For his head and his feelings, Van Aert still wanted to start in Gent-Wevelgem,” the report continued. “There was also room, because at Visma they had to field a replacement anyway, to replace a sick rider. The final decision was up to Mathieu Heijboer, Van Aert's trainer and also the team's Performance Manager. He decided not to. The numbers took precedence over feelings.”

Team manager Grischa Niermann confirmed the internal debate following Dwars door Vlaanderen. While acknowledging it had been a consideration, he stood by the final decision, citing the need for recovery over extra racing.

“It was indeed an option that Wout would still ride Gent-Wevelgem, but we chose not to do that,” Niermann explained. “Adding an extra race to a program as a last resort does not always work out well. If we had seen based on our figures that Wout was still lacking certain elements after Harelbeke, we would have agreed, but the analysis by our trainers showed that Wout could especially use some extra freshness so soon after his altitude training.”