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Either his sprint is worse than it used to be, or the sprinting field has just passed him by. Just the fact that he never beats top sprinter for speed reduces his potential for winning stages by a lot.
He isn't any slower than last year, I don't think. Personally I believe Laporte is actually faster, or at least on the same level. I think Van Aert would be much better off not trusting on his sprint so much (not in a stage like today, obviously, but generally). He's great when he takes initiative, he's not great at making the right choices in a nervous final.
Today doesn’t show much. He’s easily 2nd without the barriers and he went way deeper the past two days than his rivals.
To me, the big difference here is that Philipsen is better than anyone Wout faced in the TdF sprints and is now perfectly positioned to finish it off. Due to the perfect leadout, Philipsen doesn't need to come back from the 10th spot anymore to try to win the stage. I don't think it has anything to do with Wout being less good than in the past.
I actually think he was good, after yesterday I thought he'd look worse today.
Yes, even without getting boxed there were quicker guys around him (Ewan and Bauhaus) but it's not like he was blown out of the water and his positioning was excellent. If he keeps that up he'll eventually win a stage were the combination is right, there are enough sprint opportunities this year.
Yes, even without getting boxed there were quicker guys around him (Ewan and Bauhaus) but it's not like he was blown out of the water and his positioning was excellent. If he keeps that up he'll eventually win a stage were the combination is right, there are enough sprint opportunities this year.
Before he got boxed in I thought Wva had it. I don’t understand the comments that he doesn’t have it…? He was on the way to beat the whole sprinter’s field after going deep yesterday (while a lot of the sprinters let go)…
His positioning for bunch sprints is very good (not just today). He was in perfect position throughout, without elbows or dangerous moves. If Ewan had that ability, he would win 1/2 sprints.
Nothing the matter with Wout, I think. His tantrum at the end of stage 2 was at least entertaining. Also, he cares a lot. For stage 3, he had the 2nd best position going into the final 250 meters. If the barrier hadn't been an issue, he still could have finished behind Jasper. The same outcome probably would have occurred for last year's version of WVA. Wout is going to win some more races, this year.
Rick, I have absolutely no clue how you reach that conclusion. He looked pretty good to me, but its impossible to actually say anything more than than after he got a bit closed.
We haven't seen him sprinting enough lately to draw conclusions but I see no reason to assume his sprint is suddenly gone. The little we saw today also seemed fine to me.
Selfish Van Aert needs to understand he works for Vingegaard. He is a donkey
His stage wins are secondary to the goals of Vingegaard
His stage wins are secondary to the goals of Vingegaard
Elos Anjos
BANNED
His cycling career would get a boost if he was just a bit more selfish and demand full support and a leadership role in the big stage races where he can score. It may not be compatible with JV's main plan but he is a crucial link in that plan so they would need to listen or lose him. If he doesn't learn from this he remains 'the' superdom for JV. That's how they see him and use him.
WVA is best used in his current role, as a 1 day leader and as a donkey in stage races. Until he can consistently get over the high mountains, he is not of much use in another role, when his team is trying to win the tour
Needs to win for the pregnant missus, to show that it is worth staying away from her at this moment in time..and for the future Van Aert
The only full bunch sprints he's won since the start of 2022 are in the Dauphine against guy like Ethan Hayter. Especially in the 2022 Tour he was in great position for a heap of sprints and he got beaten for speed every time.
But the one that really sticks out is that Paris Nice sprint against Jakobsen after echelons.
I think it's fair to say he doesn't have the top speed of a fresh Jakobsen or Philipsen. Usually if he wins a sprint it's when the fastest guys have either been dropped or are more fatigued than him.
Everything has to go right for him to win a pure bunch sprint after a flat stage. As far as his actual speed I don't believe much if anything has changed tbh.
Everything has to go right for him to win a pure bunch sprint after a flat stage. As far as his actual speed I don't believe much if anything has changed tbh.
Exactly. The way he and Laporte smoothy react and anticipate to moves in the head of the peloton in those last kilometers is almost art. This is where Van Aert saves more energy and "wins" the sprint.
He's not the kind of sprinter with an acceleration in the last 50m like Ewan or Groenewegen.
Some of the drama is about lacking peak legs, really. Last year's hulk would have two or three stages at this point.
If these aren't his 'peak legs' I think the rest of the peloton should be frightened tbh. At the first 2 stages he was the only 'sprinter' remaining among gc guys and climbers, while guys like Alaphilippe or MVDP were already dropped. And we all know why he didn't win stage 2 lol, didn't have anything to do with not having the legs.
This was partly tongue in cheek, taking a swipe at last year's ridiculousness, but even so I would think he is not at the WC peak yet.
as scary as it is, this is probably true. Or at least his plan is for this to be true. He looked quite undercooked in Suisse, but now he is nearing at lest al dente.
MVP is not in his best shape either. Wait for the Worlds and MVP will kick WVA's @ss as usual.
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