Wout van Aert: "We rode for the victory with the entire team"

Wout van Aert has been a dominant figure in the classics season so far and at yesterday's Gent-Wevelgem he played a key role in Christophe Laporte's race. Jumbo-Visma were relatively disappointed to come out of the race without a win, but the Belgian reports a positive outlook on it.

“We rode a good race and can look back with satisfaction. I had hoped for slightly better legs today, but we rode for the victory with the entire team," Van Aert said after the finish. Although he claims to not have had his best legs, the Belgian champion was highly active during the day and the strongest rider up the hard Kemmelberg which marked the race.

"The Kemmelberg is a tough climb, but not long. That’s why the gaps stayed small. Behind us, there were a lot of teams interested in the sprint and they regrouped quickly, so it was impossible to stay away," he said. As van Aert attacked the final time up the ascent, he went solo off the front, but soon had company of a small group containing Christophe Laporte and Tiesj Benoot. Throughout the day it was evident that van Aert attacked and counter-attacked several times with the purpose of helping his teammates' chances of success.

In the flat run-up after the hilly section was over, Christophe Laporte and made the winning move with 25 kilometers to go, only to finish second in the sprint as Biniam Ghirmay took the win: "In the final, Christophe got away in a small group, which led to a perfect situation. The only blemish is that we just missed out on the victory.”

Van Aert finished a modest 12th place, finishing near the front of the chasing group in the sprint. He will now take some rest before tackling the Tour des Flandres which will be taking place in the coming weekend.