The Belgian top favourite Wout van Aert has tested positive for corona and will therefore be unable to compete in the Tour of Flanders on 3 April, the professional cyclist announced on the Twitter account of his Jumbo-Visma racing team.
There had already been signs of the cancellation the day before when van Aert felt unwell. The former cyclo-cross world champion was the big favourite to win the spring classic, which is considered a bank holiday in his native Belgium. Van Aert had presented himself in splendid form this year, winning the two one-day races Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and E3-Prize and also impressing in the Paris-Nice tour.
He had woken up the day before with a sore throat and two rapid tests had then shown a positive result. In the end, two positive PCR tests were the final straw. "The good news is that I only have mild symptoms. That increases my hope that I will recover quickly and be able to return to competition," said van Aert. The Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel and Tour de France winnerChampion Tadej Pogacar from Slovenia should now have the best chance of victory.
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