Wout van Aert officially skips E3, but does Van Avermaet overlook turbulent winter?

After an impressive third place at Milan-Sanremo—where Van Aert attacked from the chasing group to secure a podium finish—his presence at E3 had seemed a real possibility. However, the team had already indicated that no last-minute changes would be made, making his participation unlikely. That has now been confirmed with the official lineup announcement.

The team unveiled a seven-rider squad for E3 on X, and despite Van Aert’s absence, it still lines up with a strong selection. Christophe Laporte is expected to lead the team, supported by Edoardo Affini, Per Strand Hagenes, Axel Zingle, Filippo Fiorelli, Timo Kielich and Owain Doull.

Former pro Van Avermaet believes his compatriot’s absence is a questionable call. “I find it a bit hard to understand,” he said. “It’s such a beautiful race and one that really suits him.” Van Aert has already won the race twice in his career. Nevertheless, his team has opted to prioritise additional training ahead of the bigger goals.

Van Avermaet is particularly disappointed by the decision. “Will that one extra training day really make the difference in peaking for the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix?” the Belgian wondered aloud. The 2017 E3 winner added: “He’s had the whole winter to train, hasn’t he?”

The question is whether that last remark fully holds up. On January 2, Van Aert suffered an ankle injury during the cyclo-cross race in Mol, which set him back in his preparation for the spring classics. On top of that, the Visma | Lease a Bike rider had to miss Opening Weekend due to illness.

It therefore cannot be said that the Milan-Sanremo third-place finisher enjoyed a full and uninterrupted winter of training. Even without Van Aert, however, the E3 Saxo Classic still promises to be an exciting race. For the riders, the expected poor weather conditions may make it a gruelling day, but for fans, that only adds to the spectacle.

With Mathieu van der Poel confirmed at the start, there will already be a major contender on the start line. Still, Van Avermaet points to another rider who could benefit from the tough conditions: “Mads Pedersen really likes racing in these circumstances—we should keep an extra eye on him.”