'The season is longer than Sunday' - Team downplay panic in Belgium over Wout van Aert's long odds for Tour of Flanders

Spectators hold portrait placards of Team Visma-Lease a Bike Belgian rider Wout van Aert at the start of the 'E3 Saxo Bank Classic'
Belgian supporters of Wout van Aert haven't had much to cheer about in the Spring Classics so far (Image credit: Getty Images)

Other than perhaps Remco Evenepoel, few riders get more attention – or more criticism – in the Belgian media than Wout van Aert.

Before the E3 Saxo Classic, Het Nieuwsblad's headline declared that "failure is not an option" for the Visma-Lease a Bike rider in these Classics. After he finished outside the top 10, the papers speculated how bad of a sign this was for the Tour of Flanders, and criticised his decision to skip Gent-Wevelgem on Sunday.

Assistant Features Editor

Matilda is an NCTJ-qualified journalist based in the UK who joined Cyclingnews in March 2025. Prior to that, she worked as the Racing News Editor at GCN, and extensively as a freelancer contributing to Cyclingnews, Cycling Weekly, Velo, Rouleur, Escape Collective, Red Bull and more. She has reported from many of the biggest events on the calendar, including the Giro d'Italia, Tour de France Femmes, Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. She has particular experience and expertise in women's cycling, and women's sport in general. She is a graduate of modern languages and sports journalism.

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