Despite Marianne Vos not starting her title defence at Dwars door Vlaanderen Women due to illness, Visma-Lease a Bike remain hopeful that she will be able to start Sunday's Tour of Flanders.
The team confirmed Vos would not take the start in Waregem just hours before the riders rolled out on Wednesday.
"Unfortunately, Marianne [Vos] isn’t fit enough to start today in Dwars door Vlaanderen. Wishing you a speedy recovery, Marianne!" read a social media post from Visma.
Women's team Sports Director Jan Boven shed some more light on the situation, revealing that Vos fell ill overnight.
"She had a bad night and was really not feeling well," Boven told Cyclingnews at the women's start.
"Also this morning at breakfast it was not like we hoped and to avoid the risks in the direction of Flanders, we decided for her not to start."
Boven was on stage to collect a prize for Vos, a T-shirt celebrating her 250th victory as a professional, which she scored at Dwars door Vlaanderen in 2024.
"She was very disappointed not to start, last year she won here and she has a bit special feeling about the race," said the sports director. "It fits her also really well so she was pretty sad."
Are Visma confident she will take the start of the Tour of Flanders in Oudenaarde on Sunday? "For the moment yes," said Boven.
"But we cannot see in the future. For now, we hope for the best and that she can have an easy day today and do something starting again tomorrow."
If Vos doesn't recover in time for Flanders, then Visma-Lease a Bike should start the women's race with Pauline Ferrand-Prévot as leader and 19-year-old Imogen Wolff as another solid option. Of course, it would hurt any two-leader strategy they had planned but Boven acknowledged how these things happen in cycling.
"Of course if on Sunday Marianne is not starting, we need to make a real new plan," he said. "When you have two really strong ladies you can make a more easy plan than with one leader, but we'll adapt with new plans if we have to."
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