Wout van Aert’s Classics dreams go up in smoke, but all is not lost for Visma-Lease a Bike
Attention turns to another promising squad member after their talisman is ruled out of Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix and Amstel-Gold Race with 'several fractures'
It happened in a heartbeat. One moment Wout van Aert was locked into the wheel of his teammate, Tiesj Benoot, as the pace ramped up at Dwars door Vlaanderen. The next, he was in a heap on the asphalt with his jersey in tatters, along with his Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix dreams for another year.
Cycling has shown time and time again that while it can be breathtakingly beautiful, it can also be staggeringly cruel. That was no more evident than in the sight of the Belgian on the tarmac, his back visibly bruised and battered as the pain of all of his preparation being laid to waste overwhelmed him. This will no doubt have hurt more than the broken collarbone, multiple broken ribs and broken sternum which his team later confirmed he had suffered in the crash.
What can often go unnoticed is the amount of personal sacrifice that professional bike riders make year on year when tailoring their individual seasons towards particular goals. Family birthdays missed, friends' weddings, holidays and other events all skipped in order to fine tune preparation for the likes of Flanders and Roubaix.
Before Wednesday’s appearance at Dwars door Vlaanderen, Van Aert had spent weeks at altitude on Mount Teide, training hard in order to be at his best for his main targets of the year. According to his Strava account, he racked up more than 75 hours of training in Tenerife and climbed more than 50,000 metres of elevation, all with the aim of building up top physical condition for Flemish Holy Week.
And in just a handful of seconds, that all went up in smoke.
Still, despite the loss of their talisman, there was a beacon of hope for Visma-Lease a Bike at Dwars door Vlaanderen. Making the best of a bad situation, Matteo Jorgenson rode aggressively to victory, replicating the success he felt in winning Paris-Nice earlier this month.
The Dutch team were already missing the injured Christophe Laporte and sick Dylan van Baarle, but the American stepped up when his stricken teammates needed him.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Post-race, Jorgenson spoke at length about witnessing the crash, explaining that he narrowly escaped being involved himself. On social media, where some users allegedly criticised him for pressing on, the 24-year-old sought to explain his actions.
“After a few seconds of shock having barely escaped myself, I tried as hard as I could to bring myself out of it. As we got onto the foot of the Kanarieberg I felt some responsibility to honor what has gone into this,” Jorgenson wrote.
“The sheer man-hours, planning, late nights and early mornings put in by our staff and of course all the teammates that had spent 150k dying in the wind to bring us there in the front… Why would I let all of that go to waste? We already lost our leader, our strongest rider and the heart of our classics team, should we then just throw in the towel?”
“I am proud of how Tiesj Benoot and I continued to fight and I hope we honored the display that Wout van Aert was planning to put on. Anyway, see you all Sunday where all of Visma-Lease a Bike will try to do him proud.”
With the young American in form, and Van Baarle and Laporte potentially back available soon, Visma-Lease a Bike look to be in safe hands for the upcoming Monuments. Don't be surprised to see them honour their fallen leader once again.
A post shared by Team Visma | Lease a Bike (@teamvisma_leaseabike)
A photo posted by on
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Tom has been writing for Cycling Weekly since 2022 and his news stories, rider interviews and features appear both online and in the magazine.
Since joining the team, he has reported from some of professional cycling's biggest races and events including the Tour de France and the World Championships in Glasgow. He has also covered major races elsewhere across the world. As well as on the ground reporting, Tom writes race reports from the men's and women's WorldTour and focuses on coverage of UK domestic cycling.
-
I’m having to tell people I’m still a cyclist despite the fact it’s not cool anymore
Bragging rights now belong to the paddleboarders
By Michael Hutchinson Published
-
Canyon Grail CF SL 7 AXS review: a gravel bike of two halves?
The integrated cockpit and aero tubing are somewhat at odds with the Grail's taller stack height
By Rachel Sokal Published
-
Wout van Aert’s cyclo-cross campaign still up in the air
Belgian said to be struggling to run after serious knee injury sustained at the Vuelta a España
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Wout van Aert to stay at Visma-Lease a Bike for 'rest of his career'
The Belgian has signed a "unique" contract with his Dutch team, with an unknown end date
By Adam Becket Published
-
Simon Yates says he took a pay cut in order to join Visma-Lease a Bike
32-year-old says it was now or never as he gets set to leave Jayco AIUla after eleven years
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Matteo Jorgenson: 'I would like to go for GC in a Grand Tour at some point'
'It’s been everything that I’ve dreamed of so far' says American as he reflects on debut season with Visma-Lease a Bike
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Wout van Aert out for rest of season with 'serious' knee injury
Visma-Lease a Bike rider requires intravenous antibiotics to reduce infection risk
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Banned Visma-Lease a Bike rider will not return to Dutch team, but can ride from March 2025
Michel Hessmann given seven-month suspension in diuretic doping case
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Wout van Aert’s 2023 Tour of Britain prize money still in limbo
Funds still outstanding after British Cycling agreed to honour prize money
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Olympic mountain bike champion 'had no choice' but to leave Ineos Grenadiers to race on the road
Pauline Ferrand-Prévot signed for Visma-Lease a Bike this week due to Ineos Grenadiers still lacking plans for a Women’s WorldTour team
By Tom Thewlis Published