Wout van Aert without Christophe Laporte for the Tour of Flanders

Wout van Aert and Visma-Lease a Bike will be down a key rider for the Tour of Flanders, with Christophe Laporte still out of action with illness.

Laporte, a former winner of several Belgian Classics, did not start Gent-Wevelgem after suffering from stomach flu and a saddle sore after Milan-San Remo, and has not recovered in time for this week’s racing.

Visma-Lease a Bike confirmed on Monday that he will miss Dwars door Vlaanderen, which he won in 2023, as well as the first cobbled Monument of the season on Sunday.

This leaves Van Aert, who is aiming for his first win at the Tour of Flanders, without one of his key domestiques, with Laporte often the last rider with the Belgian in the key moments of the big Classics.

Read more:

• All's well that ends well for Visma-Lease a Bike at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
• Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne: Wout van Aert takes dominant win from the break

It is not yet clear who will replace Laporte in the Visma-Lease a Bike line-up.

The Dutch squad is further weakened by injuries for Omloop Het Nieuwsblad winner Jan Tratnik and Tiesj Benoot, who crashed in Gent-Wevelgem and E3 Saxo Classic, respectively. Both are currently still slated to ride Flanders, where they will join Matteo Jorgenson in support of Van Aert.

"It was better than expected. I did have a lot of pain on my ribs along the way, but given the circumstances, it was pretty okay," Benoot told Wielerflits and others after Gent-Wevelgem, in which he suffered to help teammate Olav Kooij. "It wasn't even sure if I could start."

Van Aert himself is also carrying the effects of a crash, after he came off on the base of the Paterberg in the E3 Saxo Classic, later complaining of pain in his elbow and hip. He did not race Gent-Wevelgem – he had not planned to – but was back training on Saturday.

Read more: 'Stupid crash' on the Paterberg costs Wout van Aert at E3 Saxo Classic

Despite being slightly bruised, the team don’t appear to be concerned about Van Aert’s condition ahead of his big goals, namely Flanders and Paris-Roubaix.

“Wout's injuries are not too bad,” Visma-Lease a Bike sports director Maarten Wynants told Het Laatste Nieuws.

“On Saturday, just like Matteo Jorgenson, he was able to get that extra incentive the day after the race, to now rest for a while and digest the expected dip after his altitude training. From this week onwards his condition will only crescendo.”

Visma-Lease a Bike were a near-dominant force in the Belgian Classics in 2023 - save for the Monuments - but have not quite exerted that same control on the races so far this Spring. The added injuries and absences in their squad for Flanders will only place more question marks over their ability to go up against the likes of Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Lidl-Trek on Sunday.

Read more: The Van der Poel rules: How to beat cycling's best Classics rider

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