Discussions and statements continue about what happened at Through the Flanders last Wednesday where what was supposed to be a clear victory for Visma-Lease a Bike turned into an authentic tactical disaster. Van Aert, at the end of Dwars door Vlaanderen, was beating his chest, accusing himself of selfishness, but there are those who instead absolve the Flemish rider, accusing themselves of being the sole culprit and having mismanaged the entire finale. This is sports director Grischa Niermann, who was in the team car behind Van Aert, Benoot, and Jorgenson.

"Obviously, it's always easy to relive the race in hindsight, but I should have asked the guys to attack in the final kilometers" – Niermann explained - "Once it was clear they wouldn't be caught from behind, I should have acted differently".

It's not easy to accept a defeat when you have a clear numerical superiority in the finale, and a team that has won so much, like Visma-Lease a Bike, cannot simply file away such a defeat. "We should have tried to get rid of Powless. The guys had decided to bet on the sprint with Wout, but the tactical responsibility of the team falls solely on me, and I should have said that it didn't seem like the best idea. It was a big mistake and a mistake for which I take total responsibility. If you can project one of your riders alone at the head of the race, that remains the easiest scenario to win".

A tactical fiasco like Wednesday's is even harder to accept because the Dutch team had masterfully sent three of their strongest riders to the front just before starting the Berg ten Houte, the crucial point of the race. "We had planned this type of attack, we had tried it just before on the Trieu, 90 kilometers from the finish, but we had failed. We knew that the approach to Berg ten Houte, where the wind was blowing perfectly, would be ideal for a power play that we completely committed to. The guys were fantastic in this and in how they then expanded the gap".

Everything was perfect, but it didn't work in the end to achieve victory, and the first to cross the finish line was American Powless from EF. On Sunday, the Tour of Flanders will be raced and Visma-Lease a Bike will do everything to launch an assault on victory.

"Pogacar and van der Poel will be the great favorites, and if we want to intimidate them, we will have to play again on the breadth of our team. I know that with Wout's missed sprint, the question of his competitive level will be raised again, but he has shown how good he can be. Wout wins sprints like these 9 times out of 10, but it was the cramps on the straight that cost him the full result".