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Teams & Riders Official Wout Van Aert thread

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We'll see in about two weeks time if this was the right decision. In 2022, for example, this win would be his biggest in a whole season...
Like Logic said, maybe he suddenly thinks he's Boonen or something...

He earned Laporte's total devotion from here on. And Jumbo's admiration. And his teammates admiration. Actually, he basically embodied #samenwinnen pretty well today.

It's the Ajax style Dutch total football cycling equivalent Jumbo aims for. It's pretty big IMO to show it off in such an important race but the fact all the rivals for xyz reasons fell apart all on their own today (Jumbo didn't destroy the field, they destroyed themselves), it allowed WvA & Laporte this moment.
 
We'll see in about two weeks time if this was the right decision. In 2022, for example, this win would be his biggest in a whole season...
Like Logic said, maybe he suddenly thinks he's Boonen or something...
I don't see how this gesture needs to be validated by winning RVV or PR. GW isn't a consolation prize. This will not determine if he wins these races or not.

Besides everyone will remember he was a beast here at the end of the season anyway. He GW in the palm of his hand, so why people get so worked up on whether the stats say he won or not, especially when Van Aert clearly doesn't care himself, baffles me.
 
Besides everyone will remember he was a beast here at the end of the season anyway. He GW in the palm of his hand, so why people get so worked up on whether the stats say he won or not, especially when Van Aert clearly doesn't care himself, baffles me.
Well, that is exactly it: people (read: Belgian media) will not remember. They are ruthless and clueless, a dangerous combintion. The amount of knobheads to come out of the wood works to point out that monuments are be all, end all for Wout is enormous. Even guys I very much respect as analysts like Bakelants. This will be held very much against him if he does not win in the coming two weeks.

I also very much question Wout not caring, given his reaction (meltdown?) after E3.
 
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Well, that is exactly it: people (read: Belgian media) will not remember. They are ruthless and clueless, a dangerous combintion. The amount of knobheads to come out of the wood works to point out that monuments are be all, end all for Wout is enormous. Even guys I very much respect as analysts like Bakelants. This will be held very much against him if he does not win in the coming two weeks.

I also very much question Wout not caring, given his reaction (meltdown?) after E3.
Good point. It is very contradictory in a way. I do think Van Aert should be absolutely fired up for the monuments. But at the same that should come from within himself, and not be a reaction to media pressure, so in a way it's really damned if you do, damned if you don't.
 
Tough one. Nice gesture, but these things tend to come off as patronizing and now there is no real single winner. Wout misses out on a nice addition to his palmares, and there is an unofficial asterisk next to Laporte's "win". Recall Senna "gifting" Berger a win. Berger winces every time it comes up in an interview. Of course those guys were making a helluva lot more money than either Wout or LP, so maybe if LP got some bonus for the win or something that's nice.
 
Tough one. Nice gesture, but these things tend to come off as patronizing and now there is no real single winner. Wout misses out on a nice addition to his palmares, and there is an unofficial asterisk next to Laporte's "win". Recall Senna "gifting" Berger a win. Berger winces every time it comes up in an interview. Of course those guys were making a helluva lot more money than either Wout or LP, so maybe if LP got some bonus for the win or something that's nice.
It's insulting to fans, it's patronizing towards Laporte, it's insulting to the race and organizers. "Your race isn't important enough for me, mighty Wout, to put on my palmares a second time, i will use it as coin to buy off my domestique (who already gets paid to do his job)".
 
I don't see how this gesture needs to be validated by winning RVV or PR. GW isn't a consolation prize. This will not determine if he wins these races or not.

Besides everyone will remember he was a beast here at the end of the season anyway. He GW in the palm of his hand, so why people get so worked up on whether the stats say he won or not, especially when Van Aert clearly doesn't care himself, baffles me.
Wout Van Aert won way too little to gave away such big win as Gent-Wevelgem!
It's that simple.
 
Well, that is exactly it: people (read: Belgian media) will not remember. They are ruthless and clueless, a dangerous combintion. The amount of knobheads to come out of the wood works to point out that monuments are be all, end all for Wout is enormous. Even guys I very much respect as analysts like Bakelants. This will be held very much against him if he does not win in the coming two weeks.

I also very much question Wout not caring, given his reaction (meltdown?) after E3.
"Meltdown"
 
Wout Van Aert won way too little to gave away such big win as Gent-Wevelgem!
It's that simple.
Exactly, his biggest win is MSR, and he's giving away GW. Seriously, lol. That's like winning the lottery and giving 40% of it away to a friend.

This probably is related to whom he beat at E3.
It was because in a Belgian (Sporza) podcast they said it would be best for his self confidence if he were to win E3, after losing San Remo, to go to Flanders with a good vibe.
 
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It's insulting to fans, it's patronizing towards Laporte, it's insulting to the race and organizers. "Your race isn't important enough for me, mighty Wout, to put on my palmares a second time, i will use it as coin to buy off my domestique (who already gets paid to do his job)".
When Wout van Aret wins Ronde Van Vlaanderen next Sunday and rids himself of the Belgian Pozzato reputation that he has had for 2.5 years , and makes me look like a total fool, you won't care anymore that he let Laporte (who is so much more than just a domestique) take the 1st here.

Unless you think that that won't happen ever, because he's a Belgian pozzato who just win warm up races
 
So when will illmaestro get banned again for blatantly baiting people into telling him how much of a fool he is?

I would have liked Wout to win as well because 1) he's my guy in the classics and 2) I like when the strongest (and best) riders win the biggest races. G-W is a great race and all and I get he has bigger fish to fry, but Laporte and everyone else wouldn't have thought he was selfish after being the obvious strongest rider.

Oh well, this is forgotten next week. I consider him a slight favorite over MVDP and I can't see Pogacar dropping him.
 
Chapeau!

He was super impressive today. A god among mortals (the two other gods will join him next week). If Laporte had punctured on Kemmelberg or didn't manage to go with Van Aert, the latter would likely still have won with a 51 km solo. So not just being the strongest here, but dominantly so to the extent that he had the race in his hands.

Furthermore, he also rode really well. Good use of his team, good in the role behind his two teammates, and good use of his own strength.

I didn't like the gift, especially since he would have won without Laporte. I can only stomach it because it was clearly his own idea to gift it.
 
Lol @ all the people offended by Wout's gesture.

Wout's ride was a superb demonstration of strength and magnanimity.

The reactions here, meanwhile, are a superb demonstration of why 30+ year old sport fanatics are typically uninspiring people to be around.

Perhaps it's inevitable.

As grown men, we invest much of our life in a completely passive hobby, waiting for others to give us great sensations through enthralling battles.

And if the show disappoints, which often happens, we feel personally let down.

So the the blaming starts.

The race design is never good enough.

The tactics are always stupid

The manager or director is an idiot.

The athlete is disrepectful.

Welcome to the world of the disgruntled sports fanatic.
Without sports fans, Wout would have to win this race to pay the bills.
 
Chapeau!

He was super impressive today. A god among mortals (the two other gods will join him next week). If Laporte had punctured on Kemmelberg or didn't manage to go with Van Aert, the latter would likely still have won with a 51 km solo. So not just being the strongest here, but dominantly so to the extent that he had the race in his hands.

Furthermore, he also rode really well. Good use of his team, good in the role behind his two teammates, and good use of his own strength.

I didn't like the gift, especially since he would have won without Laporte. I can only stomach it because it was clearly his own idea to gift it.
He looked monstrous on the flats after the hills. Maybe everyone else was dead, but I think the hard endurance and threshold ability is definitely there. I would definitely back Van Aert a lot more in a solo than MvdP or Pogacar, and that includes coming back after being dropped, or recovering for a sprint.
 
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Yeah, the real story today was how easily they won. WTF? I actually thought a guy like Phillipsen could be a real threat after how strong he was in the bread race. Guess I overestimated him and underestimated the hills - don't pay a ton of attention if MVDP isn't racing. Wout is perfect for JV. He has "team player" mentality and he has clearly benefited from their system which apparently gives guys an extra % or two beyond what they would get anywhere else outside of maybe Ineous. Of course the downside is that he has to waste his time and talent riding for skeletal types like VINggggguard. On the other hand, you have MVDP and now Pogi who are gamblers and pure killers and probably wish there were no teams in road cycling.
 
He looked monstrous on the flats after the hills. Maybe everyone else was dead, but I think the hard endurance and threshold ability is definitely there. I would definitely back Van Aert a lot more in a solo than MvdP or Pogacar, and that includes coming back after being dropped, or recovering for a sprint.

Yes, Pog and MVDP may be able to drop WVA in one of the steeper sections at Flanders but to hold him off… most likely no. Van der Poel has looked close to his former 2021 best in for example Hoogerheide but Wout has just added a notch better endurance than before which makes it almost impossible to drop him. He might loose a couple of seconds on a hill but that exceptional recovery gives him the opportunity to come back on the flats. Will be really interesting to see but with that joint power of JV all the other teams must be having nightmares
 

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