Despite doubts surrounding his health, Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) will make his road season debut at Le Samyn Classic on Tuesday, the race organisers have confirmed.
Van Aert was forced to miss his planned season debut at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad on Saturday after falling ill in the build-up to the race. His Visma-Lease a Bike team did not specify the illness nor indicate whether this would affect his planned appearance at Le Samyn.
He remained on track for his mooted debut at the Classics-opening Omloop until he suddenly fell ill in the week of Saturday’s race, with his withdrawal announced on Thursday.
Quite how much this latest illness – and indeed the other winter setbacks – will have affected his ability to peak for these major targets remains to be seen. We should get some answers on the cobbles of the Samyn Classic on Tuesday afternoon.
Though not a major Classic like the Omloop, the Samyn Classic is a tough, gritty so-called ‘semi-Classic’ that takes place in the Wallonia region of Belgium, near the French border. It is not so hilly as the Flemish one-day races but includes a number of cobblestone sectors on the finishing circuit that make up much of the 204km route.
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