We cycling fans were treated to some top-notch stuff on Wednesday at Dwaars door Vlaanderen, although for Visma-Lease a Bike, it may not have been such a fun day.
Van Aert denied the win
It looked, for a long time, like Wout van Aert had finally timed it right. It didn’t end that way.
After some early excitement, the race came back together through the final climbs and cobbled sectors,
Then, Visma-Lease a Bike’s van Aert lit things up on the Eikenberg, bridging to the front and whittling the contenders down.
He eventually shed his companions and went solo. And he looked good–although with 5 km to go, it was just a small gap. But, that’s all you need to win. It looked that yes, maybe he could avenge the brutal loss from 2025. Last year, Visma-Lease a bike really screwed the pooch when they had three riders in the break–including van Aert, and EF’s Nelson Powless.
Van Aert was who was desperate for a win, in one of his many comebacks Instead of the ole 1-2 move that is textbook in cycling, whether you’re a junior or pro when you have the numbers, the bees decided to do a leadout. And van Aert got outsprinted by the American.
How Visma threw away a guaranteed win at Dwars door Vlaanderen
So it would have been cool if he took the win yesterday. But, even when he was solo, the elastic never quite snapped.
Photo: James Bunga
Photo: James Bunga
Photo: James Bunga
Behind, Filippo Ganna launched a measured pursuit, distancing his breakaway companions and steadily eating into Van Aert’s lead. The gap hovered around a dozen seconds inside the final kilometres, then evaporated under the red kite. It was pretty impressive to see the Italian launch the way he did.
Van Aert led into the final straight, but the Italian chrono star arrived with a whole lotta momentum. Ganna swept past in the closing metres to take the win. And van Aert had to settle once again for second, even saying that he’s clearly cursed in this race.
There was one Canuck in the race, Guillaume Boivin (NSN Cycling Team), who, along with dozens of other riders, DNF.
Wild finish for the women, too
The women’s race was equally as thrilling. Marlen Reusser timed it best in a cagey, stop-start finale to Dwars door Vlaanderen. She edged European champ Demi Vollering after the pair broke clear in the closing kilometres. But for a moment, it looked like Lieke Nooijen (Visma-Lease a Bike) may pull off a very clever dub.
Just like the men’s race, things lit up on the…
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