In Ghent-Wevelgem, where Jumbo Visma's teammate Christophe Laporte narrowly missed out on a historic victory over Biniam Guillemay (Intermarche-Wanti-Gobert Materio), Wout Van Aert said the race went as planned until the last 250m He said.

The Belgian, who was aggressive at various points during the 249-km race, including an attack on Kemmelberg's final climb, said the race went according to plan, with Jumbo Visma ultimately going up one rider.

"I think I raced the way I wanted to. Maybe I didn't have the legs that I had on Friday. But we still raced aggressively and we all tried to win."

"It was actually our game plan to put Christophe in a small group in the final. It was a perfect situation and it's a shame we missed the win."

"I felt good about myself and the team. Maybe I wanted to make a bigger difference. Maybe I wasn't top-notch, but I 'attended the meeting. Laporte had a chance to win, so it made sense to protect the attackers."

Van Aert had been active at various points in the race before, but especially in the final time on the Kemelberg (the steepest climb named Ozuelle). He pulled away from the front of the elite group, but after a protracted chase on the following flat section, the leaders and chasing group merged, and a sprint finish was expected.

"It's a really hard climb, but it's not very long, so the gap is small. Of course, a lot of teams are going for the sprint. Of course, there were a lot of teams looking to sprint.

Van Aat, who could only answer "I'm tired" when asked about next week's Tour de Flanders, also took time to praise Gil May, who became the first African to win the classic.

The 21-year-old, who won a silver medal at last fall's Leuven World Championships U23 road race, has been on a meteoric rise this spring, winning the Mallorca Challenge Trofeo Arcadia and finishing fifth in Friday's E3 Saxo Bank Classic.

"It's really big," Van Aert said of Gilmey's feat. 'Of course, there's been a lot of talk about him over the last few weeks, but to win a Classic like this is another step forward. He seems to be taking one step forward every day.

"But I want to give him a big round of applause. When you look at the sprint this way, Laporte is not losing because he is not as fast. He seems surprised by the jump (from behind)."