Another Blow for Wout van Aert as Illness Derails Classics Debut

In another setback for hard-luck Wout van Aert, the Belgian star will miss Saturday’s Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and put his spring classics campaign on hold after falling ill, his team confirmed Thursday.

The Visma-Lease a Bike star was set to debut his 2026 road season at the Flemish classic in Belgium’s Opening Weekend, but now he will focus on recovery after sickness struck during a stint in a snow-bound altitude camp in Spain.

“Obviously it’s a big blow for me to miss out on my first race, having prepared for the classics season the whole winter. We had a good training camp at Sierra Nevada and I was feeling really strong,” Van Aert said.

“But unfortunately, it’s also that time of the year where it’s easy to fall ill. I remain positive about the feeling I had on training and am confident that I will be able to return to racing soon. Just not this Saturday.”

It’s the latest setback for Visma, which has seen a string of crashes, illnesses, and delays to open the 2026 racing season.

That means there’s no direct matchup against longtime rival Mathieu van der Poel, who confirmed he’ll race Saturday in his road season debut.

Van Aert won Omloop in 2022 and was hoping to put an ankle injury suffered this winter during cyclocross firmly behind him going into the Opening Weekend.

His spring calendar should otherwise remain on track, with the Ename Samyn Classic on March 3 and Strade Bianche on March 7 in a showdown with Tadej Pogačar still on the books.

He will be replaced in the Visma lineup by Italian rider Pietro Mattio as Visma reshuffles for the Belgian opener.

Christopher Laporte, who looks back on track after an illness-plagued 2025, will take the lead for the Killer Bees despite crashing out of Ruta del Sol last week.