'What if' doesn’t matter, as Visma | Lease a Bike knows all too well after Gent-Wevelgem: "Tough to take, but that’s racing"

Without Wout van Aert, Visma | Lease a Bike lined up at Gent-Wevelgem with Olav Kooij as their clear team leader. The Dutch squad saw the race unfold in their favor, but one moment changed everything: Kooij’s crash. Victor Campenaerts, who had gotten himself into a tactically perfect position ahead of his leader, saw it happen. "News of the crash hit hard," said the Belgian after the race.

Visma | Lease a Bike knew exactly where they needed to be heading into Wevelgem. In De Moeren, the team was perfectly positioned, and everything continued smoothly as they approached the hill zone. Campenaerts made a smart move by going ahead of the peloton so that he could support Kooij later in the race. The Dutchman handled the first ascent of the Kemmelberg well and followed Pedersen on the plug streets — until suddenly, he was sitting on the roadside with his arm in an unnatural position.

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Everything was going according to plan for Visma | Lease a Bike until Kooij's crash

"We had several riders in the front echelons and Victor was up front in the race, so everything was going according to plan," confirmed team director Arthur van Dongen. "On the plug street, Olav followed Pedersen’s attack, but shortly after, he missed a corner. The race could have looked very different because with Victor up the road and Olav on Pedersen’s wheel, we had the perfect setup. But unfortunately, that too is part of racing."

"Olav slipped," Van Dongen added. "If he hadn’t crashed there — and I know ‘if’ doesn’t count — I think he would’ve been pulled up to the front by Pedersen without much effort. Victor was already up there, and Kooij could’ve stayed with them for a long time. It’s tough to take, but it is what it is."

Campenaerts saw it the same way. "The idea was for us to anticipate before the climbs of the Kemmelberg. That worked, but not long after, I got the news that Olav had crashed. That news hit hard, but we had to move on."

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Campenaerts: "Pedersen was without a doubt the best rider in the race"

"I was in front, which was a good position with the anticipation," continued the Belgian, who surprisingly began the second ascent of the Kemmelberg at the head of the race. "Pedersen joined us then, and I knew I had to follow him. Maybe I went a bit too enthusiastically on the second Kemmelberg. Why did I do that? Because if I had started on his wheel, I knew the chances of holding on were slim. So I tried to anticipate a little, but I hit my limit. Too bad, but I’ll be honest: even if I’d gotten over the Kemmel with him, he would’ve dropped me on the next climb."

So for Campenaerts, 'if' didn’t count either. "Olav was our leader, but when you're racing a windy Gent-Wevelgem, you have to make sure you’re in the race. If you're with Pedersen and Olav is just behind, that’s the dream scenario." In the end, he was the first to admit that the strongest man had won. "The three of us behind worked together and got the gap down to fifteen seconds, but in the end, he just rode away — second by second. You have to try and stay in the race, but Pedersen was without a doubt the best rider in the race. No one can argue with that."

Read also

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