"Those crystals couldn't be there by accident": Van Aert suspects possible sabotage after puncturing in Le Samyn

Wout van Aert's road debut in 2026 ended with mixed feelings at Le Samyn. The Belgian from Visma Lease a Bike assured that he felt good on his legs during the race, but his participation in the finale was ruined by a flat tire with about 10 kilometers to go. After the race, the rider hinted at the suspicion that the flat occurred after passing through an area full of glass that, according to him, should not have been there.

Van Aert suggests that sabotage could be the cause of his flat tire

Van Aert suffered the mishap during the decisive phase of the race. After getting a flat, he had to stop to change bikes first with his teammate Pietro Mattio and later with the spare bike from the team car. By then, the peloton had already moved on, and any chance of returning to the front group had vanished.

The team's sports director, Grischa Niermann, explained after the race that the situation was already complicated at the time of the flat. “When he got a flat at the finish, we were about a minute and a half behind him with the car. He first changed with a teammate and then with us. At that point, it was already too late to come back,” he noted in statements to VTM Nieuws.

Van Aert himself explained that the problem occurred when passing through an area with numerous pieces of glass on the road, something that particularly caught his attention considering that the peloton had passed that same point several times.

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“I was well positioned and suddenly there were a lot of glass pieces on the road,” explained the Belgian. “It's strange because we had passed that section five or six times. Those pieces of glass couldn't have gotten there by accident.”

Despite missing out on the final sprint, the Belgian rider assured that with his presence at Le Samyn, he achieved the goal of returning to competition as soon as possible after starting the season.

“I felt good, although I couldn't get clear answers about my level because I missed the finish,” he explained. “Anyway, I think it was a good decision to race here. I need to compete, and today I took a step forward.”

Van Aert's calendar now continues in Italy, where he will face Strade Bianche (March 7), Tirreno-Adriatico (March 9-15), and Milan-San Remo (March 21) in the coming days, three key events at the start of the classics season.