Under the eye of a massive crowd, the peloton rolled out of Bruges shortly after 10 a.m. for the 109th edition of the Tour of Flanders. Team Visma | Lease a Bike made its presence known early on. With just over 100 kilometres to go, the team sent Benoot up front, anticipating the race together with several other outsiders.

With 60 kilometres remaining, the entire Visma | Lease a Bike squad was still well positioned. On the second ascent of the Oude Kwaremont, Pogacar threw down the gauntlet. Van Aert and Jorgenson followed, with Mathieu van der Poel and Mads Pedersen also in tow.

Not long after, Van Aert seemed to suffer, but with support from Benoot – who by then had been caught by the favourites – and Jorgenson, he managed to stay in contention. Van Aert eventually bridged back to the leading riders. At the foot of the Oude Kwaremont, he launched an attack himself. The Belgian carved out a small gap, but had no answer to a blistering move by Pogacar, who rode solo to victory.

Van Aert continued to do his share of the work in the chasing group of four. In the sprint for second place, he had to settle for fourth. Behind them, Benoot was rewarded for his strong performance with sixth place.

“I’m happy with how we raced today”, Van Aert said after the finish. “In the end I just missed out on the podium, but I think it was a fair sprint. Fourth place was the best possible result today. I managed to get back into the race and wanted to try something heading into the final climb of the Oude Kwaremont. It was a battle at times to stay with Tadej, Mads and Mathieu, but I think I gave it everything I had.”

Van Aert also praised the work of his team. “With Tiesj and Matteo up front, we had all our cards on the table. That was the plan. At one point the three of us were in a chasing group together, and we could work really well to bridge the gap. I think we didn’t put a foot wrong as a team. There’s no shame in finishing fourth today. Of course, it would’ve been nicer to be on the podium, but I’m at peace with it. All the hard work of the past weeks has paid off — I showed a good level today. That gives me confidence heading into next week”, he added, referring to Paris–Roubaix.

“We rode a very good race”, head of racing Grischa Niermann added. “It’s a shame Wout didn’t make the podium, but we should be proud of the way we raced. We were present at the front, with Tiesj anticipating early and Wout and Matteo both riding at a high level. All three of them looked strong. It looked like Wout was the second strongest in the race near the end, but I think the result tells the truth. He managed to respond again and again to the attacks from Mathieu and Tadej. That’s a good sign. It shows that, as a team, we’re in a good place — in both depth and quality. Today gives us confidence for what’s still to come."