"The good news is that I only have a mild symptom, just a sore throat and a cold," Van Aert said.

"My goal is to recover now. I want to be fully recovered before I think about the future again."

The Belgian explained that he felt "a slight sore throat" on Thursday morning.

"I immediately did two self-tests and they were both positive. I then did a PCR test, which showed that I was strongly positive," added the Belgian.

Second in the 2020 Tour of Flanders behind his great rival, the Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel, Van Aert (27) was the big favorite in the race after his success last week in the E3 Classic, the repetition of the "Ronde".

The Belgian champion does not know where he contracted the infection: "During the last two years, I have made a lot of efforts to avoid infection. But we are still exposed to many risks and we have not always everything in hand."

After the Dutch team announced that his participation was "unlikely", Van Aert received a multitude of messages: "It made me very happy to read that everyone cares about me. I want to thank everyone for their support over the past few days. I will be my team-mates' biggest fan from now on on Sunday."

"The exams have confirmed that Wout is not in good condition," said his sporting director Arthur Van Dongen.

"He now has to take a break and then we will set new goals. Knowing him, he will come back stronger than ever."

"We are going to make a new plan and discuss how we can win the +Ronde+ with the new squad composition," added the manager of the Dutch team, which is likely to focus on Frenchman Christophe Laporte. second in the E3 Classic then Sunday in Ghent-Wevelgem, and on the Belgian Tiesj Benoot, second Wednesday in Through Flanders.

Wout Van Aert on the road to the Ghent-Wevelgem classic, March 27, 2022 DIRK WAEM BELGA/AFP/Archives

"It's different to run without the big favourite, both for the other teams and for us," Benoot said.

"Wout has a big impact on every race he takes part in. We will have to race without him now, but we will always be a strong team".

© 2022 AFP