Wednesday's Dwars door Vlaanderen marks Wout van Aert's return to the race where he crashed at 60km/h and ended his 2024 Classics campaign. With the Tour of Flanders on Sunday, the Belgian is hoping for a far more positive outcome than the broken collarbone and ribs he sustained a year ago.
Following a barrage of criticism and questions after his 15th place at the E3 Saxo Classic, the final Flanders warm-up at Dwars is also a chance to show his form ahead of the big battle against the likes of Mathieu van der Poel, Tadej Pogačar, and Mads Pedersen at the Tour of Flanders and then Paris-Roubaix.
Before the start of Dwars, Van Aert said that he's aiming for "the best possible result", noting that he and his Visma-Lease A Bike team will have to make the race hard to beat the sprinters.
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"I hope for the best possible result. We are here at the start to win the race," Van Aert told Sporza at the start.
"We don't have a real sprinter at the start to compete with guys like Jonathan Milan because Olav Kooij dropped out in Gent-Wevelgem, so we have to race to have a chance.
"The wind is favourable for a tough race. In the final, the wind often comes diagonally and from behind us. After the hill zone, it's going to be harder than usual to get something straight."
Van Aert is joined by reigning champion Matteo Jorgenson during the 184km race, while Tiesj Benoot and Dylan van Baarle also form part of the Visma squad.
He returned to racing after a spell at altitude – and a month away from the action – at E3 but finished almost three minutes behind solo winner Van der Poel.
Earlier this week, Visma directeur sportif Arthur Van Dongen acknowledged the press criticism in an interview with Cyclingnews while insisting that the team is "working on the long term" and that Van Aert remained upbeat heading towards Flanders and Paris-Roubaix.
Ahead of Dwars, Van Aert brushed aside the criticism, admitting that he wasn't good enough at E3 while stating that he has focussed on positive messages instead.
"In the past few days, I've received a lot of messages, wishes of success from my best mates. I'm drawing on that," he said.
"The course doesn't lie. I wasn't good enough to win at E3, but that's not a state secret."
Van Aert said he "had nothing to prove" but called Dwars "another opportunity" to get a result, having not yet scored a top 10 in the trio of cobbled races he's taken part in this spring.
"Obviously, so far, I didn't make the results this season that I was hoping for. Today is another opportunity to turn that around," he told CyclingPro.
"There's always expectations around me, especially in this beautiful country. You get used to it. It's always been like that, so it's nothing new. I have nothing to prove."
Van Aert's start at Dwars, meanwhile, sees him return to the race which brought a premature end to his Classics campaign, also preventing him from making his Giro d'Italia debut last season.
He and several others crashed hard on the descent from the Berg Ten Houte leading into the Kanarieberg. Deciding to prioritise rider safety, race organisers have removed that fast run-in and the Kanarieberg from the course for this year's edition, a decision Van Aert praised.
"I think it's very good that the organisation is thinking about safety," he told Sporza. "At first glance, I thought the course has become easier, more in favour of the sprinters, with more sections between the climbs.
"But I watched the finale again yesterday, and it still has a lot of twists and turns and cobbles. So, it's still a real Classic."
