Wout van Aert misses Omloop Nieuwsblad through illness

Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike) has been ruled out of Omloop Nieuwsblad 2026 due to illness. 

The Belgian rider was set to make his road season start after recovering from a fractured ankle at the Zilvermeercross in Mol in early January.

Visma | Lease a Bike released the news on Thursday, revealing that Van Aert would not be able to take to the start due to falling ill, and would need to take his time to recover.

"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," explained Van Aert in a team statement. 

"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," said Van Aert.

It marks another setback for the Dutch team, who have already had to contend with Van Aert's injury suffered in the cross field, as well as a number of other challenges. Jonas Vingegaard was ruled out of his season opener at the UAE Tour following the effects of a training crash and illness that followed. 

Meanwhile, Christophe Laporte, who won a stage at the Vuelta a Andalucia, then suffered a crash and abandoned the race on the final stage. Despite his crash, Laporte is set to take to the start line at Omloop and will headline the Dutch team alongside Matthew Brennan, who has also made a winning start to 2026 by winning a stage at the Santos Tour Down Under.

The Belgian will be replaced in the Dutch team's line-up by the 21-year-old neo-pro Italian rider Pietro Mattio.

Omloop Nieuwsblad takes place on Saturday, February 28 and features Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech), who is set to make his debut at the race. 

For Van Aert, attention now turns to recovery and preparing for what is expected to now be his road season opener, Ename Samyn Classic, on March 3, where he would make his debut.

From here, Van Aert is set to take to the Italian roads for the trio of Strade Bianche on March 7, Tirreno-Adriatico on March 9-15, and Milan-San Remo on March 21. 

All three are races that hold happy memories for Van Aert. The Belgian won Strade Bianche and Milan-San Remo in 2020, and took two stage wins and finished second overall at Tirreno-Adriatico behind Tadej Pogačar in 2021.