Wout van Aert and Team Visma | Lease a Bike not on the same page? "He still wanted to start in Gent Wevelgem"
Cycling
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.”
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- So in the end he did pretty well tactically too :-)Mistermaumau07-04-2025
- Why Maria, what is your reasoning? He was already ill during E3, thought he’d get over it but it got worse which is probably when he took them. His doc will be amongst the best-informed and his infection perfectly analysed. Read this and stop relying on generalised outdated assumptions about antibiotical treatment, part of the reason they may soon no longer be effective at all. “ In 2008, one of us (L.B.R.) posited that of the different ways the medical community could reduce the amount of antibiotic treatment prescribed, the one that seemed safest and most achievable was to treat infections only for as long as necessary to achieve optimal cure rates (1). It is difficult and potentially dangerous for providers not to prescribe antibiotics at all, but it should be easier to convince them not to prescribe antibiotics for so long. The evidentiary basis of traditional durations of antibiotic therapy is that a week is 7 days (2), which is why tried-and-true antibiotic regimens are 7 to 14 days long. The definition of a week was decreed by Roman Emperor Constantine the Great nearly 2000 years ago (2). This seems an unsatisfactory evidentiary basis for modern medical practice. Fortunately, in recent years, more than 45 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have compared the efficacy of short-course versus traditional, longer courses of antibiotic therapy for the treatment of community-acquired and nosocomial pneumonia, acute exacerbation of chronic bronchitis and sinusitis, complicated urinary and intra-abdominal infections, Gram-negative bacteremia, acute bacterial skin infections, osteomyelitis and septic arthritis, and even neutropenic fever (3, 4). All RCTs for these diseases and 2 meta-analyses of these RCTs (5, 6) found no difference in efficacy between shorter and traditional courses of antibiotic therapy. Of note, the short-course regimens that were studied were typically not based on Constantine’s 7-day week. For pneumonia specifically, 8 RCTs have shown that 3- to 5-day courses of antibiotic therapy are at least as effective as 7- to 14-day courses for community-acquired pneumonia”Mistermaumau07-04-2025
- Totally. There may still be some details to disgust us but it won’t change anything to the basics of what happened and that the punishment was totally appropriate. If there was/is anything relevant to add, nothing is stopping him from doing that, he hasthe platform and connections and know-how how to defend himself in precarious affairs so why hesitate??? No use to your ego once you’re dead ;-) Barring a Trump pardon and awarding of fake US TdF titles, I don’t see it happening on this planetMistermaumau07-04-2025
- Silly comment in light of what was revealed post-race. Obviously the illness affected him on the day, he was even outsprinted by MP and Wout kept up with him.Mistermaumau07-04-2025
- Meaning, if dad was asked before he knew of the top secret* illness he wouldn’t have been able to integrate it into his “analysis”. * knowing how he likes talking, I expect it was kept secret even from him so as not to give things away.Mistermaumau07-04-2025
- Yes, but you have to take into account the order of interviews and the spread of knowledgeMistermaumau07-04-2025
- The truth is already out. Thats what the purpose of the testimony he gave was. Nevermind someone innocent would not have ruined so many lives in the process. If he somehow was ever allowed back in pro cycling or his records restored, not only would it be a travesty for Justice in sport, but it would be the end of cycling. Already done so much damage, and continues to by making stupid statements on his podcast to stay relevant. If he actually had any respect for the sport, or other people, he'd stop treating the world like fools and own his past and present. Not try and make up sob stories. Especially when all they do is highlight his entitlement and privilege.HoopoeChai07-04-2025
- "very sick" but only 3 antibiotic days? strange.
maria2024202407-04-2025 - ahahah, nice and funny boy.maria2024202407-04-2025
- You're dreaming LA Doper !frieders307-04-2025