Through the Flanders should have been the resurrection race for Wout van Aert because in this race, exactly one year ago, a crash had destroyed an entire season: by winning on those very roads, the Belgian could have erased all the demons he was carrying with him. This was not the case, and the Flemish rider found himself experiencing the hell of losers, because he failed to finalize the entire team's work. No smile for Wout, and with his head down, he left the podium ceremony.

"I was selfish, and this is an attitude that goes against my nature. This was a big mistake."

Van Aert decided to race against Neilson Powless towards the finish line of Dwars door Vlaanderen and try to beat him in a sprint. The American, trapped in the middle of a Visma-Lease a Bike trio, eventually managed to win, preceding Van Aert, Benoot, and Jorgenson.

"I became stiff in the sprint. We pushed really hard in the last hour and were at the limit. But with a different tactic, we could have eliminated Powless and gone just the three of us. If it hadn't worked out, at least we wouldn't have had anything to blame ourselves for."

Van Aert's disappointment is immense, not only for missing the victory but for having asked the team to work exclusively for him. "When you're ahead with four riders and three of them are from the same team, if you don't win, you've definitely made a mistake. I am fully responsible for this defeat. I was too selfish in the finale because my desire to win overshadowed everything. Especially after all the criticism I received and all the bad luck that has happened to me. For once, I thought only about myself. I didn't want to risk ruining everything and having one of my teammates win, and this was a big mistake. I'm not like this, and that's why I'm so disappointed and angry with myself."

Last year, the Flemish rider had worked hard to arrive at the Classics in the best form and then try to win the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. He had won Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne and then finished third twice at the E3 Saxo Classic and Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, and then the crash on March 27th that had turned everything upside down. This time, Van Aert believed he could be the best, but that was not the case.

"You must always maximize your chances of winning a race as a team. We didn't do that, and I am the only one responsible. I made the decision quite early for the finale and wanted to be the one to sprint, convinced that I would win, but I didn't. So now I must take responsibility and be hard on myself."

The Belgian has always been a very generous rider with his teammates, often leaving the victory to them for the work done. This time, however, there was a mistake in the assessment, and Wout cannot come to terms with a victory that could have gone to his teammates Benoot or Jorgenson.

"The fault is certainly not Tiesj's or Matteo's. I was so convincing that they followed me. If we had attacked Powless in the last ten kilometers and it still hadn't worked out, then we would have had nothing to blame ourselves for. Because that would have been the right tactic. Instead, I decided to play in a different way and cannot justify myself. I will need some time to see the positive side of this race after a result like this."