Teams & Riders Official Wout Van Aert thread

[Bolder]

Laporte should have flat out declined to take that "win." It was so clear that Wout was geometrically stronger (and exponentially stronger than the field). Blah.

That said, as noted above, I can't believe the field just let them ride away like that. It was a strong attack but hardly nuclear. Just another example of why riding not to lose ... almost guarantees you're not going to win. Sure, you don't want to drag Wout to the line in a reduced bunch, but what's worse, losing by 2 minutes while you bicker amongst yourselves, or being narrowly beaten at the line in a full gallop?

 

[frisenfruitig]

Laporte should have flat out declined to take that "win." It was so clear that Wout was geometrically stronger (and exponentially stronger than the field). Blah.

That said, as noted above, I can't believe the field just let them ride away like that. It was a strong attack but hardly nuclear. Just another example of why riding not to lose ... almost guarantees you're not going to win. Sure, you don't want to drag Wout to the line in a reduced bunch, but what's worse, losing by 2 minutes while you bicker amongst yourselves, or being narrowly beaten at the line in a full gallop?

They didn't let them ride away at all. Did you see Pedersen's face when they took off on the Kemmelberg? They were completely blown away and had no chance whatsoever to bring them back.

 

[KZD]

Unlike many here, I think Van Aert did well in letting Laporte take the win. Van Aert already won Ghent Wevelgem and had won E3 two days before and its not like Laporte is a pure domestique, he is actually a seconday leader for Jumbo that had already come second the year before in this race.

Ultimately its not a second win at Ghent Wevelgem that is going to fundamentally make Van Aert's career better or worse its what he does in the biggest one day races, the monuments and the World Championships.

 

[Ilmaestro99]

Maybe Laport was the leader and WVA was supposed to ride for him

 

[frisenfruitig]

I think it was a really nice gesture from WVA but I feel like GW is too big of a race to just give away like that. If he doesn't win RVV or PR he might regret this decision. IMO it's ok to take what you deserve. Wout could have easily dropped Laporte if he wanted to and basically towed him to the finish line... Don't really feel like Laporte deserves this win.

 

[tobydawq]

Laporte should have flat out declined to take that "win." It was so clear that Wout was geometrically stronger (and exponentially stronger than the field). Blah.

That said, as noted above, I can't believe the field just let them ride away like that. It was a strong attack but hardly nuclear. Just another example of why riding not to lose ... almost guarantees you're not going to win. Sure, you don't want to drag Wout to the line in a reduced bunch, but what's worse, losing by 2 minutes while you bicker amongst yourselves, or being narrowly beaten at the line in a full gallop?

How does that work? Being exponentially stronger than someone else?

 

[Davesta]

I was a little surprised that Wout gifted the victory, as it would’ve banked some insurance against the next 2 weeks - ie if he fails to win RVV or PR, then at least he could point to winning E3 against his two big rivals plus a dominant GW victory as a mark of a successful spring…

But presumably Wout doesn’t feel like he needs (or wants) an insurance policy. And we probably also need to remember what happened 12 months ago to understand his decision - when Wout & Laporte did exactly the same thing last year, and rode away from the field at E3, it was Wout that took the victory. And then Laporte just missed his own victory at GW two days later…we know Wout is a team player, and he obviously felt that Laporte deserved his moment of classics glory. I imagine things would have been different if MvdP or Pog had won on Friday, but I can’t bring myself to criticise somebody for being generous & selfless.

 

[rallybanana]

For the second consecutive year Van Aert has won the sprint on the Tiegemberg for the bathroom furniture. He can now furnish two bathrooms: one upstairs and one downstairs. It was probably his wife Sarah who said, "I don't care about the E3, but make sure to win that bathroom furniture!"

Or he didn't want Mathieu winning anymore bathroom furniture

last but not least:
Super Prestige CX

 

[theyoungest]

I was a little surprised that Wout gifted the victory, as it would’ve banked some insurance against the next 2 weeks - ie if he fails to win RVV or PR, then at least he could point to winning E3 against his two big rivals plus a dominant GW victory as a mark of a successful spring…

But presumably Wout doesn’t feel like he needs (or wants) an insurance policy. And we probably also need to remember what happened 12 months ago to understand his decision - when Wout & Laporte did exactly the same thing last year, and rode away from the field at E3, it was Wout that took the victory. And then Laporte just missed his own victory at GW two days later…we know Wout is a team player, and he obviously felt that Laporte deserved his moment of classics glory. I imagine things would have been different if MvdP or Pog had won on Friday, but I can’t bring myself to criticise somebody for being generous & selfless.

Yeah, in E3 it looked a little weird for Van Aert to simply take the win from his superdomestique. I think gifting the win to Laporte makes more sense. It shows magnanimity, it shows team spirit, and it shows confidence. Let alone that Van Aert was far from guaranteed to win in a two-up sprint, remember it's Laporte who stood on the podium at the Worlds, not Van Aert

 

[Rackham]

Official Wout van Aert is a Belgian Santa Claus.

Laporte should have flat out declined to take that "win." It was so clear that Wout was geometrically stronger (and exponentially stronger than the field). Blah.

That said, as noted above, I can't believe the field just let them ride away like that. It was a strong attack but hardly nuclear. Just another example of why riding not to lose ... almost guarantees you're not going to win. Sure, you don't want to drag Wout to the line in a reduced bunch, but what's worse, losing by 2 minutes while you bicker amongst yourselves, or being narrowly beaten at the line in a full gallop?

The bolded part is where I am on this story. I think WvA actually found himself in an impossible situation which could have been easily remedied had Laporte answered differently when WvA asked him if he wanted to win. I mean think about it, i.e. WvA needs Laporte as a leadout man in various races & here he found himself riding with him to the line. What's he supposed to do? Tell Laporte "may the best man win" & crush him?

So IMO Laporte had all the power in the world to decline the gift & tell WvA to either just go for it, or they could sprint for the win (knowing full well WvA would defeat him). The team car could have also intervened & told Laporte to let WvA win as well. I think what WvA did was extremely gentlemanly & 'noble' (within reason & context, i.e. this is still just pro-sport), but the decision wasn't his alone: it took Laporte accepting the gift & the team car playing along as well to make it happen. Both had the power to make a different decision themselves.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Eddy Merckx: "I wouldn't have let my teammate win"
Tom Boonen: "Wout will regret this"

Article on Sporza (in Dutch obviously).

 

[theyoungest]

Eddy Merckx: "I wouldn't have let my teammate win"
Tom Boonen: "Wout will regret this"

Article on Sporza (in Dutch obviously).

Where's Roger De Vlaeminck? I don't care about these losers.

 

[Sciatic]

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

Can’t wait for the final two ascents of the Kwaremont!

 

[Tonton]

I was a little surprised that Wout gifted the victory, as it would’ve banked some insurance against the next 2 weeks - ie if he fails to win RVV or PR, then at least he could point to winning E3 against his two big rivals plus a dominant GW victory as a mark of a successful spring…

But presumably Wout doesn’t feel like he needs (or wants) an insurance policy. And we probably also need to remember what happened 12 months ago to understand his decision - when Wout & Laporte did exactly the same thing last year, and rode away from the field at E3, it was Wout that took the victory. And then Laporte just missed his own victory at GW two days later…we know Wout is a team player, and he obviously felt that Laporte deserved his moment of classics glory. I imagine things would have been different if MvdP or Pog had won on Friday, but I can’t bring myself to criticise somebody for being generous & selfless.

This ^ is where I stand on the subject. Nicely put.

 

[Andre]

Yes, Wout, in everyone's mind will realize that he actually won. Good gesture anyway. Plus we know how much he likes second place....just kidding.

 

[CyclistAbi]

Such selfish always second.

 

[CyclistAbi]

Considering all the work Laporte is doing for van Aert. On classics and stage races. Holding it against van Aert now. That is just silly.

Lube all over again.

 

[Barkintheeye]

I would credit Wout with assuming that he had the best intentions when he decided to let Laporte have the victory. I believe Wout feels a lot of responsibility and shows that he is ready and willing to assume leadership, to show respect for his team mates and also respect other riders, organizers and spectators. It’s hard to please everyone all the time but I believe he is honestly doing his best. As an example when he lost to Van der Poel in Hoogerheide he showed a lot of respect, as when he crashed with Pidcock in Tirreno-Adriatico. We cannot know exactly what his intentions were at GW but I am willing to grant him the best of intentions.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Apparently he was nearly killed by a concrete mixer truck during a training ride on Tuesday. The bikelane was in such a condition that it was not suited to ride over at high speed so they were riding on the road. The guy in the truck was honking his horn as he deliberately tried to mow them off the road. Jan Bakelants was along on the trainingride and was petrified. He claims Van Aert nearly escaped death.

 

[Nick2413]

Apparently he was nearly killed by a concrete mixer truck during a training ride on Tuesday. The bikelane was in such a condition that it was not suited to ride over at high speed so they were riding on the road. The guy in the truck was honking his horn as he deliberately tried to mow them off the road. Jan Bakelants was along on the trainingride and was petrified. He claims Van Aert nearly escaped death.

Sounds like my typical morning ride here in the US.

In all seriousness, glad it didn’t turn out bad.

 

[rallybanana]

He claims Van Aert nearly escaped death.

That doesn't sound too good

Did he mean to say "barely escaped death"?

 

[search]

here's what van Aert said about it himself:

(gt) “It is unfortunately a type of incident that happens too often when you are cycling…”, replied van Aert, who had chosen to ride on the road rather than on the cycle track to simulate a sprint at more than fifty km /h. “I hope that one day road safety can improve. But the description of this incident may have been a little exaggerated by Jan... Following that, I received many worried messages. It was not necessary. My wife even thought that I had been knocked down… I sent a message to Bakelants to ask him to be more careful in his words next time… But I am still alive! And very motivated by this Tour of Flanders.”

(Original, in French: “C’est malheureusement un type d’incident qui arrive trop souvent quand vous faites du vélo…”, a répondu van Aert, qui avait choisi de rouler sur la route plutôt que sur la piste cyclable pour simuler un sprint à plus de cinquante km/h. “J’espère qu’un jour la sécurité sur la route pourra s’améliorer. Mais le descriptif de cet incident a peut-être été un peu exagéré par Jan… Suite à ça, j’ai reçu de nombreux messages inquiets. Ce n’était pas nécessaire. Ma femme a même cru que j’avais été renversé… J’ai envoyé un message à Bakelants pour lui demander d’être plus prudent dans ses propos la prochaine fois… Mais je suis toujours en vie ! Et très motivé par ce Tour des Flandres.”)

Wout van Aert en confiance avant le Ronde : "Même sans van Baarle, notre collectif sera fort"

Malgré le forfait de son coéquipier néerlandais pour le Tour des Flandres, Wout van Aert sait qu'il peut s'appuyer sur une grande équipe Jumbo-Visma.

www.dhnet.be

 

[Ilmaestro99]

So I am still allowed to call him Belgian pozzato for another week. I almost start to feel sorry for him.

 

[Monte Serra]

So I am still allowed to call him Belgian pozzato for another week. I almost start to feel sorry for him.

Harsh but fair. Hopefully Wout can silence his critics in Roubaix.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Harsh but fair. Hopefully Wout can silence his critics in Roubaix.

?XD Nothing is fair about that, hes just trolling and baiting as usual and its a damn wonder why he's still allowed to post on this forum. If this was said about Contador back in the day, he'd be gone.

Anyways, when the race was ridden this incredibly hard, its not surprising that he ran out of gas. He needed a bit more of a tactical race, but he can only thank his useless team which also waited 10 km to send Nathan down. Not that it would have changed a lot as he still would have dropped, but he would've gotten contact on Kwaremont easily and saved energy - probably for a 3rd.

Hes not at 100% obviously, hes close, but its not good enough against absolute peak Mathieu and Poga. Roubaix should be better.