Two races, two big attacks, no win – What do Wout van Aert’s double close defeats mean for the Tour of Flanders?

There was a sense of foreboding and a degree of déjà vu as Wout van Aert went solo into the finale of Dwars door Vlaanderen. In theory, a rider of his stature should be pegged to win from that situation, especially given the lack of any huge rivals behind. But for many watching, the optimism wasn’t quite there.

That’s because Van Aert has been burned before in these situations, as recently as a couple of days ago. At In Flanders Fields, Van Aert was away with Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech) in what looked like a race-winning move, but a defensive ride from Van der Poel saw them brought back.