Tough break! Van Aert's team and management temper expectations on his return: "Don't hold your breath for a quick comeback!"

At a press conference held by Visma | Lease a Bike on Friday afternoon - just 48 hours before the grand finale of the Tour of Flanders - team directors Merijn Zeeman and Grischa Niermann, alongside key riders Tiesj Benoot and Matteo Jorgenson, shared insights into the upcoming Flanders' Finest and inevitably, the current state of Wout van Aert after his unfortunate accident.

A few days after the crash, the team of CEO Richard Plugge called for privacy regarding Van Aert, who was hospitalized. This came as a result of several camera crews stationed outside the Herentals hospital where Van Aert was staying, aiming to update the live blogs in various Belgian media outlets. "On behalf of Wout, we thank everyone for their support. He hopes to continue his recovery in peace," the Dutch team stated about the star rider, who suffered a broken sternum, broken collarbone, and several broken ribs in the fall.

Zeeman admits Visma | Lease a Bike has mixed feelings

"We mainly hope that Wout can quickly return home to his family," said the 48-year-old Niermann, who then also addressed some somewhat difficult questions regarding Van Aert's racing schedule. "Only when we know when he can get back on the bike, can we start talking about goals. He has many fractures, so don't hold your breath for a quick comeback."

Niermann visits Van Aert, Benoot races in the Tour of Flanders with teammate in mind 

It was Niermann who visited the hospital just hours before the press conference. "He's okay, but he's still in a lot of pain, mainly due to the abrasions. It's not yet clear when he can go home, also because of the abrasions," the German - considering the circumstances - provides quite some clarity. "It's much too early to think about the future. Wout first needs to be able to go to the toilet without pain. I visited him because I wanted to offer some moral support. We want to show that as a team, we're there for him."

Benoot, possibly the rider whose wheel Van Aert touched at that moment, also shares his thoughts on the situation. "Wout's explanation was different from what I had thought. In the end, it was just an incident. With all the stories, I can form an image of what happened. You're riding towards a point where nobody wants to brake. Wout doesn't quite know what exactly happened, but he would find it strange if he had touched my wheel. For Wout himself, it's obviously very unfortunate. The last three months, we spent more time with each other than with our wives. It's very sad to lose him like that. I'll definitely race with Wout in mind. It's up to us to take the race into our hands on Sunday."

Jorgenson calls Van Aert "the biggest star of the team"

Jorgenson, who had previously claimed victory in Paris-Nice, seems to be the most notable killer bee to compete with world champion Van der Poel. "After my win in Dwars door Vlaanderen, we really had mixed feelings. We lost our biggest leader and the star of the team," the amiable American - who also speaks fluent French - mentions about his Flemish teammate. "We also worked hard for the victory, so we had to enjoy it a bit. It felt good to win under those circumstances. Bringing some positivity into the team after all the bad luck was welcome."