International media laughs at Visma and van Aert, Belgian media seeks reassurance: "He seemed ready to take on van der Poel and Pogacar"

First, look at the Dutch newspapers, which are not kind. "Wout van Aert makes a fool of Visma | Lease a Bike," De Telegraaf headlines boldly. "It was supposed to be the day of Wout's resurrection. At least, that was what Van Aert had thought. In the week that cycling fever in Flanders is reaching unprecedented heights because Sunday marks the 109th edition of the famous Tour of Flanders, the Flemish leader of Visma | Lease a Bike wanted to prove during the warm-up race Dwars door Vlaanderen that he could still take on the world. He shot himself in the foot in the process."

The Algemeen Dagblad saw a 'prestigious coup' turn into a 'debacle' and attributes this to Van Aert. "Wout van Aert's need to prove himself was so great a few days before the Tour of Flanders that it blew up in his own face. Visma | Lease a Bike threw away their overwhelming superiority in Dwars door Vlaanderen and ended up empty-handed. Or as they painfully wrote: 'Losing with three riders in a leading group of four. You can hardly make bigger blunders in the peloton."

"Revenge day gives Visma's Van Aert new trauma," writes the NOS. "It should have been Wout van Aert's day. The day he would banish the ghosts of the past. Wipe away the terrible crash of last year with victory in the same Dwars door Vlaanderen. Deal with the growing criticism of recent weeks. Everything was perfect until a few hundred meters from the finish in Waregem. Visma | Lease a Bike treated us to a masterclass, as in her best years. Van Aert, Tiesj Benoot, and Matteo Jorgenson rode everyone off the wheel except for one."

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In Belgium, the tone is a lot less severe. After the debacle, the main focus is finding reassurance for the Tour of Flanders. "Why does local hero Wout van Aert need to get rid of that enormous feeling of guilt as quickly as possible," HLN opens, trying to nuance the choices made. "In Dwars door Vlaanderen, we saw a fit van Aert, and up until 200 meters from the finish line, he seemed physically and mentally ready to battle with Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogacar on Sunday. That is still a possibility, but first, Van Aert will have to get over his guilt and mentally pull himself together for another challenge in his career."

Knack also takes a more positive view of Van Aert's choices. "His decision was indeed too selfish and unwise but understandable. Imagine you were him: would you have chosen to attack instead of sprinting? Yes, attacking Powless collectively would have increased Visma | Lease a Bike's chances of winning to 99 percent, but it might have reduced Van Aert's chances of winning to a third. Just feeling satisfied with Visma's win was not enough. "Then he would have missed the thrill of victory, that redeeming feeling of victory after months of rehabilitation and struggling with his knee."

Het Nieuwsblad shifts the blame from Van Aert to Visma | Lease a Bike as a collective. And looks for support for the overall performance. "This Dwars door Vlaanderen will give the optimists plenty of hope. Because the race gave one clear answer: if Visma | Lease a Bike wants to have a shot at winning the Tour on Sunday, it will have to be exactly like today. By making maximum use of their collective strength. With super lieutenant Benoot, speed specialist Van Baarle, and fellow leader Jorgensen. The yellow-and-black block versus the sometimes otherworldly individual class of Pogacar and Van der Poel. It's the only chance, a real opportunity, that Van Aert has on Sunday."

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Let's look at the major newspapers abroad, starting with L'Equipe. The French refer to the outcome as "The story of an anthology error.' And that, despite how well it started. "Visma | Lease a Bike took hold of the peloton and blew it apart with a single breath. A masterpiece by the Dutch team, a yellow TGV that sent the early breakaway riders tumbling to the side of the road like little parachutes."

"Another setback for Van Aert," writes La Gazzetta dello Sport. It speaks of 'a heavy defeat' ahead of the Tour of Flanders. "Van Aert again second and thus still without success this season. And that in the run-up to the Tour of Flanders, where Van der Poel, Pogacar, Ganna, and Pedersen are expected to perform. On the other hand, Van Aert will appear there full of question marks."

In Spain, AS speaks of 'a historic mistake'. "The sincerity of a rider looking for a morale boost for Sunday but who only left feeling more hurt." Despite the enormous superiority during the race, Marca also saw 'weakness' in the finale. "Powless never had to respond to an attack and drew strength from that weakness. He multiplied himself by beating not one, but three riders."