Meeus shows sprint ‘quality’ to win Le Samyn
Video credit: TNT Sports
A difficult start to the year continued for Wout van Aert at Le Samyn as his season debut ended in disappointing fashion, with the Visma-Lease a Bike rider claiming glass on the road that led to a puncture was an act of “sabotage”.Having missed Omloop Nieuwsblad with illness last weekend, Van Aert competed for the first time this season in Belgium.The 31-year-old also recovered from a broken ankle sustained in January at the Zilvermeercross.
He looked in good shape all things considered at Le Samyn, until his race was curtailed by a puncture with less than 10 kilometres to go.
Visma team-mate Pietro Mattio handed Van Aert his undamaged bike, before he changed again from the team car. The Belgian set off hoping to make up for lost time, but it was too late to catch the frontrunners.
“This is never a good time, with under 10km to go,” said TNT Sports commentator Carlton Kirby. “The great Wout van Aert may well be hobbled here.”
Van der Poel completes stunning solo win on Omloop debut
Video credit: TNT Sports
Brian Smith added: “Just when it was looking great for them: [Per Strand] Hagenes in front, [Leo] van Belle was doing a lot of placing.
“Coming into this type of finish would really suit Van Aert, but this has almost taken him out of the equation now.”
Van Aert revealed the cause of his puncture after the race.
“On the last lap, there was suddenly glass on the road,” he told Sporza. “That smells like sabotage.
“It was always the same route and then suddenly there were actual shards of glass on the road. That’s a shame. I don’t know how it could have accidentally ended up there if we passed there half an hour ago.”
Visma’s head of racing, Grischa Niermann, added: “At that point, we were right behind a second peloton. We were about a minute and a half behind.
“He did get a bike from Pietro and then he also got a new bike from us but, unfortunately, it was too late.”
While there was disappointment for Van Aert, it was an encouraging return to the bike in what has so far been a year of setbacks.
“The feeling was okay, nothing special to report. I would have liked to have contested the final to see how far I could go in the sprint but, before that, it was okay,” he said.
“We didn’t expect today to be great but it was okay,” Niermann said. “It’s just a shame he didn’t get to sprint. But I do think it looked good.
“It would have been good to have another race under his belt heading into Strade anyway. Although we shouldn’t draw too many conclusions from this race.”
Van Aert will compete at the Strade Bianche on Saturday looking to make further progress and build some momentum.
“It’s certainly a shame that due to illness I couldn’t build up the pace I had envisioned but I hope to perform well,” he said.
How to watch Strade Bianche 2026You can watch all the action at Strade Bianche live on TNT Sports and discovery+.The men’s race will be live on TNT Sports 1 and discovery+ from 13:00 GMT on Saturday, March 7, while coverage of the women’s race begins at 10:15 GMT on TNT Sports 3.
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