'These weren't the feelings I was hoping for': Wout van Aert at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad

Wout van Aert said he didn't have the feelings he was hoping for, after the Belgian's efforts were frustrated at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad by wildcard sprint winner Søren Wærenskjold.

Van Aert had featured often near the front of proceedings, along with team-mate Matteo Jorgenson, with the American putting in sterling work in the closing stages of the race following the Muur and Bosberg.

In the end Van Aert (Visma-Lease a bike) came in 11th in the final sprint, with Jorgenson 52nd, his work done, after pulling side in the final kilometres.

The Belgian had worn one of his team's much-talked about Giro aero helmets, after initially playing with fans and press by wearing a standard lid at the sign-on.

Asked what his initial sensations were following this first big Classic of the season, Van Aert replied: "Not too good. I didn't have the feelings I'd hoped for.

"I wasn't strong," he said, "I was always at the back, it wasn't a good race. I felt like I was never really in contention, and just missing the feeling you need for a Classic like this."

The windy conditions had played their part in the way the race panned out, he said, along with the make-up of the different teams present.

"There was a lot of headwind which can also affect the race," he said, "and maybe apart from us or UAE [Team Emirates] there weren't many teams who wanted to race. A lot of teams had a sprinter here, so that's what you can expect, but it was our tactic to make the race hard but we never got to the point where we could do that."

He was, perhaps, less despondent in reality than his words on paper might suggest, willing to put Omloop Het Nieuwsblad behind him and focus on the next bite of the cherry, which is Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne on Sunday.

"Today's not good enough – but tomorrow's another day," he insisted.

One man with predictably opposing feelings was winner Søren Wærenskjold of the Uno-X Mobility team.

"I was coming on the inside and I thought 'this could actually work'," he said of the final dash to the line. "And then I had good momentum, and I saw the finish line and I just went.

"I didn't know how far it was to the finish," he said, "but I just tried to keep the momentum going and, yeah, it feels a bit strange but I'm really happy. It's a step up in my career."

Wærenskjold said he had felt quite empty on the late climbs of the Muur and the Bosberg, "sitting back on the saddle like I was trying to use my whole body going up the climb. Then luckily it was headwinds so it was really easy for me to stay in the group. That was good for me to recover and have enough energy to do an OK sprint."

On the line he knew the gap was small and held off celebrating – "I didn't want to make that mistake in such a big race," he said, "but then I heard my name on the speakers and I knew I had won."