‘Very bad timing’ – Visma-Lease a Bike push to find positives after illness forces Wout van Aert out of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad in latest setback

Visma-Lease a Bike’s team management have put a brave face on the loss of Wout van Aert for Omloop Het Nieuwsblad on Saturday, but they were the first to recognise that it constituted a heavy blow to their ambitions as well.

Van Aert has caught a virus, seemingly some kind of cold or ‘flu bug, that has left him out for the count just days before Belgium’s second biggest one-day cobbled Classic, where he was set to make his debut for 2026.