Van Aert was well-positioned all day. He reacted attentively to attacks, but he was struggling to follow the pace on the last climb.

For Team Jumbo-Visma it was not the luckiest race of the season. “It was a really tough race. This was the best we could do. I didn’t have much left in the end”, Van Aert said. “Until the Kwaremont, I had the feeling that I could go for more. But when Bettiol attacked, I couldn’t follow him. Then, on the Paterberg, I was struggling. The strongest rider in the race attacked at the right time. From the Muur van Geraardsbergen onwards it was a tough race. I hoped and thought the peloton would split into groups much faster. That didn’t happen. I would have liked us to work together behind Bettiol, but it is always difficult to find good cooperation in such a large group with favourites.”

Sports director Grischa Niermann concurred with his leader. “It was not our luckiest race. And not our best either. We suffered quite a bit of setbacks along the way. Wout was in the front at the end and he was always well-positioned. But if you don’t have good legs there is nothing more you can do. In the end, the strongest rider wins the race. If they had been able, the favourites would have joined Bettiol on the Kwaremont. Fourteenth is not the result that we had aimed for. We have a young team and we cannot expect miracles. As a team, we were not as strong today as in recent weeks. That is a pity, but next week we will try again on the way to Roubaix.”