Wout van Aert was the absolute protagonist at Dwars door Vlaanderen but victory once again slipped through his fingers. The second place cannot be considered by the Flemish rider as a consolation prize and for this reason he is already focused on Sunday, when he will race the Tour of Flanders. Van Aert once again fought like a lion, but his efforts were not enough and in the final, that long-awaited victory passed into the hands of Filippo Ganna, who in the last kilometer delivered an incredible comeback. The Belgian was immediately disheartened at the finish line and remained silent for several minutes, disappointed and also incredulous at how the race had ended.

«Obviously it would have been nice if the finish line had been, I don't know, 150 meters earlier. But yes, I tried everything I had and in the end I was really dying – Van Aert said with regret at the end of the race – I gave everything and even more, then in the end if someone passed me, well I can only say that this is racing».

The Visma-Lease a Bike Flemish rider was 25 kilometers from the finish with Niklas Larsen (Unibet Rose Rockets) and Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ). Van Aert's acceleration on the Nokereberg made Grégoire drop back and then during the second passage on the Nokereberg, after the Waregemsestraat, the Belgian launched a final acceleration that also forced the Unibet Rose Rockets rider to surrender.

«When I got to the front after the Eikenberg I had excellent companions with Grégoire and Larsen and we worked well together. But I felt the pace was slowly dropping towards the finish, so I had to attack and go for the win and until the very end I thought maybe it would be enough to make it».

The Eikenberg was the third-to-last climb of the day, 1200 meters long with a gradient approaching 10%. On that passage the Flemish rider showed he had all the credentials to win, but perhaps he had to use too much energy and in the final he couldn't maintain that advantage that would have allowed him to win the Dwars door Vlaanderen. «I almost never looked back because I tried to focus only on my effort, but after the last corner suddenly Ganna was there. And then I understood he could catch me. Suddenly I saw a wheel next to me and I realized I wouldn't have any more room to recover».

Wout van Aert, after the initial shock of yet another second-place finish, acknowledged Filippo Ganna's superiority. «Certainly Ganna showed he has really strong legs. In the end it was another great race, a bit strange in the middle section. The race got going fairly early, but there were several moments where we didn't push, let's say. So in that case there were also many guys who kept coming back. We had to work quite a bit before we could make a proper selection. But I think after the Eikenberg I did really good work and even in the final I can't blame myself for anything».

Dwars door Vlaanderen has also been put to bed and Van Aert is ready to turn the page, with the awareness of having done everything possible to win. «This result confirms my good feelings. Sure, I wanted to win, but it didn't happen. What will I do now? As little as possible until Sunday to recharge my batteries. I'm ready for Sunday, let the Ronde begin».

On Sunday, Van Aert will face Tadej Pogacar, Mathieu van der Poel and Remco Evenepoel at the Tour of Flanders: it will be the first time these 4 champions will face off at the Ronde.