How good was Wout van Aert really? We asked the riders who could not hold his wheel

First up was Tim van Dijke, who spent the whole day reacting sharply to attacks, especially those launched by Visma | Lease a Bike. “We had the same plan as Visma today and did not want to be surprised by any early moves. But they went very early, already from the first climb really,” the Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe rider said with a smile.

“My plan was to go with it if Mads Pedersen and Wout moved, and that actually worked out quite well. But on the Eikenberg Wout put in such a massive acceleration that nobody could follow,” Van Dijke said, clearly impressed. “I had really good legs all day, so I still tried to contribute in the chase afterwards, but by the time Magnus Sheffield came across, the best was already gone.”

Even when Florian Vermeersch bridged up to the chase, the group did not gain a single second on Van Aert. The peloton was simply riding too fast. Everyone was on the limit, except Van Aert, who stayed clear all the way until Filippo Ganna came past him in the final 150 metres. The Italian took the win, but much of the praise still went to Van Aert.

Van Dijke was clearly struck by the Visma leader’s performance, but would he have been able to stay with the Belgian if he, rather than teammate Gianni Vermeersch, had been on his wheel over the Eikenberg? “Sometimes it comes down to timing,” he said. “I was able to follow Wout three times, and on the Eikenberg it was Gianni who was on the wheel. He had to let go. We rode a very good race today, but it was also easy to save energy in the wheels.”

There was, in truth, a strangely resigned feeling after the finish. Almost everyone felt Van Aert deserved to win, and Gianni Vermeersch was one of them. “If Wout gets caught by the peloton, then it probably feels different. But now he stayed away with Ganna, so that makes it harder for him. It was pretty impressive that they stayed clear, because with 2 kilometres to go we had them almost back.”

Vermeersch himself had been one of the last riders from the peloton still able to hold Van Aert’s wheel on the Eikenberg. “But then there was a parked car,” the Belgian laughed, explaining that he is not a big fan of the climb and had therefore already spent energy trying to get away before the foot of it. “Wout can transfer so much power while still sitting in the saddle. I could follow him for a moment, but then the legs filled with lactate and I had to get out of the saddle.”

Niklas Larsen also found himself forced off Van Aert’s wheel after a brave day in the break. “We tried to keep pulling through, but we also know how strong he is,” said the Dane of Unibet Rose Rockets. “I think he wanted to drop us on the Nokereberg. So I gave everything to stay there, but that may also have cost me in the finale. I even tried to tell him I was doing all I could, but in the end he just rode away and my legs were empty.”

The conclusion from the Red Bull camp was therefore simple: “Wout is really, really good.” “You absolutely should not rule Wout out for Sunday,” Van Dijke said. “When you see the sort of acceleration he produces on the Eikenberg, that tells you enough. He is in top form and looks razor-sharp. He is clearly a step better again than last weekend, I could feel that. It is going to be a very beautiful Tour of Flanders.”

And that came in what Vermeersch described as “one of the toughest races I have ridden this spring.” “An average of 48 kilometres per hour on this course... it never settled down for a moment, and there was not even an early break. At first I did not think Wout had opened such a huge gap, but when he then stays away while the peloton is still riding hard behind, that is definitely very strong.”

At Soudal Quick-Step, former rider Sep Vanmarcke was also full of praise for Van Aert. “He rode a very fine race and did everything he had to do. I believed in his attack on the Eikenberg, so it is painful that he did not win. Of course I would have preferred someone from our team to win, but if that was not possible, I would gladly have seen him take it. It would have been very well deserved.”

Bram van der Ploeg ( X: @BvdPloegg | email : [email protected])