Former Belgian pro Bakelants sees Wout van Aert fall short in E3: "That really creates dissatisfaction as well"

Wout van Aert did not perform as expected in the E3 Saxo Classic on Friday, sparking plenty of discussion in Belgium. The Visma | Lease a Bike leader failed to make a move on the Taaienberg and spent the rest of the race playing catch-up. In the end, Van Aert finished fifteenth.

"After the accelerations on the Taaienberg, I ended up at the back," Van Aert said in a brief post-race reaction. "I tried several times to force something after that, but it turned out to be too difficult. All in all, I rode a decent final, but I can’t look back on this race with satisfaction. I came here to get a result, and that didn’t happen."

Jan Bakelants, who occasionally trains with Van Aert, wasn’t impressed by what he saw. "He came here to get a result, but that didn’t happen. The whole team wasn’t at the level we’re used to. Maybe Matteo Jorgenson was the exception. I also found their tactics a bit strange," he said in the VTM studio.

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Bakelants: "Van Aert needs to trust the process"

Bakelants was referring in particular to how the peloton split early due to a crash. "Why did Julien Vermote start pulling once the split between the two pelotons happened? That was very opportunistic and very bold. It also wears down your own teammates. I wouldn’t have done that. You also stir up dissatisfaction with other teams. Later on, at the Kortekeer, they didn’t bother to move up and just sat passively. Those are exactly the moments you need to seize to be up front."

One week before the Tour of Flanders, the warning lights seem to be flashing orange. "It’s hard to tell. I haven’t spoken to him lately and I wasn’t there during his altitude camp," said Bakelants. "He just needs to trust the process and adapt flexibly to the opportunities he has. I don’t think it would be crazy to race Gent-Wevelgem on Sunday. A bit more race rhythm." Van Aert, however, won’t do that—he’ll return on Wednesday for Dwars door Vlaanderen. In Gent-Wevelgem, the team is betting on Olav Kooij.

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De Cauwer: "The question is whether he’ll be fit in time for the Tour of Flanders"

José De Cauwer, analyst for Sporza, shared a similar opinion. "You always think of the Van Aert we know from his amazing performances. So I’m not assuming he’s suddenly out of the picture. But there’s a lot of work to be done. And the big question is whether he’ll be in form in time for the Tour of Flanders. They need to sit down with his coach soon and figure out how tired he really is. Or maybe there’s still room to build on. If so, then Dwars door Vlaanderen could still turn into a nice race for Van Aert."

Without the Big Three (or Big Four, if you count Filippo Ganna), De Cauwer is already looking forward to an open edition of Gent-Wevelgem. "Guys like Pedersen, Philipsen, and Milan will be super motivated with those two not racing. Based on what we saw at the E3, Pedersen is the man to beat—but he did go very deep," he concluded.

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