Wout van Aert looks for comeback at Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne: "We have to admit that we were not there yesterday as a team"
Cycling
Team Visma | Lease a Bike had the most eyes at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and they came out of it without a place in the Top10. The team had a few mishaps and couldn't take a strong result, but with a strong lineup they look to take revenge today at Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne.
"I slept well. It is crucial for us to make the race tough in the hilly area, so hopefully we can try that today," van Aert told Sporza this morning. The Belgian was caught up in a split yesterday, and then in a race that came down to a sprint he was only 11th in Ninove, after Visma put their cards in this scenario after the final two climbs where no-one managed to make the difference.
Here he is the defending champion, but there is definitely something to prove, specially in the hilly section of the race where he made the difference last year. If it doesn't work, Olav Kooij will be in the fight for the final sprint. "Is this a re-exam? It is just a new chance. We have to admit that we were not there yesterday as a team, today we hope to be."
"The division is very clear. If it is a sprint with Olav, it is very clear that he has a better chance than I do. It is good to be able to bet on two horses." Matteo Jorgenson and Tiesj Benoot will also support the offensive action on the cobbled sectors.
In words to Het Nieuwsblad, Olav Kooij also shared a positive view on today's race where he stands good chances of taking a very strong result. "It is always to my advantage to be able to make a race". Although a race won by an attacking group will never really allow the Dutchman to take the win, he hopes for a tough run through the hills.
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🇧🇪 #KBK25
— Team Visma | Lease a Bike (@vismaleaseabike) March 2, 2025
Part two of the opening weekend: off to Kuurne. 🫏
Liveblog KBK: https://t.co/K0zowv2TjJ pic.twitter.com/kjPExi2cJE
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- I believe Mathieu rather gets beaten by a stronger rider than one who raced smarter. That is why he wanted to team up with Pogacar to drop the JV riders and Mads who were not helping in the chase of the first group since they had a teammate up front.JoostMehrtens08-04-2025
- Just shows that LA is not truly repentant. JUSTICE was served. No winner, no second , no third on the podium for those 7 years. No real winners could be determined, ever. Lance got to keep most of his money , he really should can it . He is toxic to cycling.dave08-04-2025
- Tricky one as while I agree Pogi and UAE are simply faster over a long distance which means Visma and MVP need to be as smart with energy use as can, it's also been proven in the past that one way for Pogi to be beaten is relentless attacks, to put him into the red. However that does require a rider to as good as sacrifice themselves for that one move which makes riskHoopoeChai07-04-2025
- Even if not technically against the rules, this is just bad etiquette and frankly I hope the rest of pelaton remembers Arkea don't care about etiquette or honoring tradition which means they shouldn't benifit from it.HoopoeChai07-04-2025
- The other issue is that Mad Petersen and Wout would have let MVDP do most of the work, as he kept showing he was stronger. MVDP did the strategy with the highest likelihood of victory, he just wasn't strong enough.acem8207-04-2025
- Crash did not help, Out of position for first attack did not help, illness did not help, pacing was not the best either. MVDP has never raced to his limits against other riders but this is his characteristics when he cracks, he cracks big time just like his first elite men WC RR. Against Pogi he needed to be optimized and he is notabstractengineer07-04-2025
- Yes, I completely agree! Before going to a doctor, I give my immune system time to react. If a reasonable amount of time passes and I'm not cured, then I go to the doctor. Fortunately, I haven't needed a doctor in years!
maria2024202407-04-2025 - A lot of medicine does nothing more than speed up recovery time 4-5 days instead of 7-8, 10-12 instead of 2 weeks. It is questionable if it’s really a good thing for healthy people to rely on it as it also makes your immune system lazy and less responsive next time round, making you more and more reliant on medication (surprise, surprise). A bit like glasses, the less you succumb to adapting their strength, the slower the deterioration. Unfortunately many bacterial infections are not so easy to fight without help, your body should manage in the end but it can take really long, I once had strong fever for 3 months trying to fight an infection without reducing work or lifestyle (the antibiotics at the beginning didn’t help).Mistermaumau07-04-2025
- In this case, maybe is my fault (my ignorance). Fortunately, my family hasn't been sick for many, many years, so I can't say if doctors in Italy are still old-fashioned. When we catch a cold (very mild, nothing that requires medical attention), we recover completely in about a week. This may have reinforced my belief in the 7-day cure. Thank you so much, MisterMmaria2024202407-04-2025
- I appreciate the No Excuses thing...bobo07-04-2025