Bad luck for Wout van Aert seems never to end: after the flu that prevented him from starting last week's Omloop Nieuwsblad, yesterday in the final stages of the Ename Samyn Classic, a rear tire puncture forced him to change bikes twice and drop out of the leading group. Only after the race, through the Belgian's words, did it emerge that the puncture had been caused by some broken glass left on the asphalt, as if someone had wanted to sabotage the race.

2026 doesn't seem to be the Belgian's year at all. On January 2nd there had been a crash at the Zilvermeercross, in which he suffered an ankle fracture, and when it was time to return to racing, flu again forced the Flemish rider to stop. Yesterday was supposed to be the day of his big comeback, but things went wrong again at Le Samyn.

Ten kilometers from the finish line, Van Aert suddenly stopped at the side of the road, because he had a rear tire puncture and although his teammate Mattio promptly gave him his bike, the Belgian had to stop again because of the frame size, which was too small for him.

«I cursed, especially because of how it happened – Van Aert said on television after the finish -: on the last lap, suddenly there was glass on the road. It looked like real sabotage. I really can't understand how it happened».

The accusations are serious, but Van Aert wanted to clarify that the glass hadn't been placed on the course for him. «It wasn't a gesture aimed at me. But what happened was strange because the course was always the same and then suddenly there were actual glass fragments on the road. It was a shame to finish that way. I don't know how glass could have ended up in that spot by accident, because half an hour earlier we had passed through the same point and there was nothing».  

Despite the bad luck, the Belgian is positive and although he couldn't dispute the finale as he had planned, his sensations are positive. «There was a big split among the riders, because the group divided in two. We weren't expecting an exceptional day, but it went well. The sensations were good, nothing special to report. I would have liked to dispute the finale to see how far I could go in the sprint, but otherwise I felt good».

On Saturday the Strade Bianche will be raced, a race that the Belgian has already won and that has special value for him. 
«It's certainly a shame that because of the flu I wasn't able to have the preparation I wanted. But for Saturday I'm confident and hope to do well. Of course, racing one more event like the Omloop would certainly have helped me, but we need to look ahead and be confident».