The defeat at Dwars Door Vlaanderen seems to have been completely metabolized by Van Aert and his team, and now they are ready to face the Tour of Flanders as protagonists. "I made the wrong choice, but everyone has accepted it. So it's a responsibility we must take together. The team meeting on Wednesday evening lasted a bit longer than usual, but it was really nice to talk about everything. And it was nice to feel that everyone in the team supports me. With the Tour of Flanders approaching, it would be a shame to remain with this disappointment. That's why I can't wait for Sunday to arrive."

Van Aert is ready to fight again and has examined everything that happened at Across Flanders, trying to learn from it and thus avoid similar mistakes in the future. "I feel more confident now compared to Wednesday morning. Analyzing the images, the race went much better than previous races where I competed. Fortunately, the unfortunate result did not completely erase what happened."

When the topic of winning the Tour of Flanders and the tactics to adopt came up, Van Aert's realism immediately emerged. "For me, Van der Poel and Pogacar are the two absolute favorites. If you've watched Milan-San Remo and other races in recent weeks, it's impossible not to think this. Of course I want to win, but if I'm honest, it will be very difficult to beat them."

Team manager Grischa Niermann also expressed his thoughts, confirming for now the superiority of Pogacar and Van der Poel.

Van Aert will not be the only team leader at the Ronde and Visma-Lease a Bike has tried to build the best possible team, aiming to focus on multiple riders and not just Van Aert. "We have always raced with different leaders and this will not change. Matteo Jorgenson and I hope to arrive in the finale, but we also hope that Tiesj Benoot and Dylan van Baarle will stay at the front as long as possible. Then we'll see who among us is the strongest."

However, the Flemish rider is also aiming at Paris-Roubaix, a race he sees as more suitable to his characteristics. "Paris-Roubaix suits me better than the Ronde, but let's start one race at a time."