Wout van Aert and Visma | Lease a Bike find possible answers in extended debrief after Dwars door Vlaanderen anticlimax

The leader already had his say in the press release from the team - which they had already issued on Friday. "This year, I’ve once again peaked towards the cobbled Monuments, and I believe we showed in Dwars door Vlaanderen last Wednesday—despite the disappointing outcome—that as a team, we are ready to fight."

He was also realistic enough not to assume the role of top favorite. "For me, it’s new to go into the Tour of Flanders without the status of an absolute favorite. That doesn’t change the fact that both I and the rest of the team are extremely motivated to make it a great race on Sunday."

So, what was discussed in Deerlijk - where Visma | Lease a Bike is based during the classics? Of course, the 'how are you doing?' question was asked pretty quickly. Van Aert, experienced in media obligations, could have prepared himself for that, too. "I'm doing well. I have recovered quite well from Wednesday's race and am already looking ahead to Sunday."

"I still feel the same way. I made the wrong choice in that final, but we also have to reflect on the fact that we all went for it at the time," he says. "It's still racing, and risks are still involved, so we must bear some responsibility together. Even though I was the one who didn't win, it's only logical that I felt the most guilty. It was a serious setback, but the beauty of road cycling is that other opportunities come along quickly. With the Tour of Flanders coming up, it would be a shame to dwell on this disappointment."

How did he deal with it? "This isn't the first time I've dealt with disappointment as an athlete. A new day, training session, or race is always coming up. Is it that simple? Yes, actually. I've learned that, too. If you look back on your disappointments for too long, you miss out on other great things. And I don't intend to. My self-confidence has not been affected either: I have more self-confidence than before Wednesday. And the team is behind me, too. As a group, we discussed it, just like we do after every race. That was even more important now, so it took a little longer."

Of course, Dwars door Vlaanderen was a disappointment, but we shouldn't exaggerate. "We managed to do that on Wednesday. We could talk about it together; on Thursday, it was just another day. And then you look ahead again," he makes it sound simple. "And the race also did me well because of how I could ride. That gave me confidence, and I also felt I had recovered well from the exertions. I am where I hoped I would be."

Is there an explanation for what happened? "We have looked at the possible causes of the muscle cramp and found some reasons, although you can't say that with 100 percent certainty. The heat could be a factor or the length of the final. The fact that Flanders adds another 100 kilometers does not scare van Aert. "But that cramp hurt, so I am afraid of that," he says with a sense of humor.

Van Aert received support on Wednesday from Demi Vollering, among others, but the Dutch rider was certainly not the only one. "I have received quite a few messages in recent days. It was nice to read them, and they made me feel good, so I want to thank everyone for that. An example? Well, then I might be doing people I'm not mentioning injustice. But it was nice to feel that support."

Where does Van Aert currently see himself compared to his major competitors? "Of course, I want to win, but Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogacar are the absolute top favorites." The Belgian explains that beating them will be very difficult: "I have to be honest, and everyone will be honest too if you have been watching the races lately. That I am not a top favorite is another thing. Although I don't think I have always been justifiably labeled a top favorite. Now, we can approach the race differently. How do we do that? (grins) Well, by not chasing down the early breakaway, for one thing. But van der Poel and Pogacar clearly showed in Sanremo and the other races that they are the top favorites."

Visma | Lease a Bike will take what they learned on Wednesday into Sunday. "How we raced made us all happy. Earlier in the spring, positioning wasn't always easy, but it went very well on Wednesday, for example. In the end, it also starts with the legs. There is not much hiding in such classics, and I am satisfied with how it went and how we worked to be in the right condition at the start."

"We also have Matteo, and I hope that Tiesj Benoot and Dylan van Baarle can also participate in the final, so in that context, our approach has not changed," van Aert explains. "I have the ambition to participate for the win, but in the end, we can keep talking about that: we won't have the answers until Sunday."

And if it doesn't work out for the Tour of Flanders, there is always Paris-Roubaix. "I think that race suits me better." The presence of Tadej Pogacar does not change much for him. "I had expected it after that recon, so it was not a shock when it was confirmed. It remains one of the most difficult races to win, so his presence does not change much."