Teams & Riders Official Wout Van Aert thread

[Oldermanish]

Ganna, Tarling have bigger engines, FWIW, which as far as entertainment value goes, is not much.

Maybe true. He has another stage in a sprint that seems to be important.

 

[Volderke]

Ganna, Tarling have bigger engines, FWIW, which as far as entertainment value goes, is not much.

I haven't seen ANY rider besides WvA put so much pressure on the best peloton there is (TdF) in 4 consecutive years (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023).
People with eyes see what WvA did there, day after day, and there is absolutely nobody that has done this. Ganna may have a bigger engine (at least for a 1-hr effort), but he simply hasn't pulled off season after season what WvA did.

So no, I don't agree with others having (showed) bigger engines, and I don't agree with the entertainment value. WvA's entertainment value during all these tours was pretty high, so much that he determined the outcome of GC more than once.

 

[proffate]

I haven't seen ANY rider besides WvA put so much pressure on the best peloton there is (TdF) in 4 consecutive years (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023).
People with eyes see what WvA did there, day after day, and there is absolutely nobody that has done this. Ganna may have a bigger engine (at least for a 1-hr effort), but he simply hasn't pulled off season after season what WvA did.

So no, I don't agree with others having (showed) bigger engines, and I don't agree with the entertainment value. WvA's entertainment value during all these tours was pretty high, so much that he determined the outcome of GC more than once.

And people with eyebrows felt their foreheads involuntarily shrink.

I just don't think "engine" is the word you're looking for. Recovery? Maybe. Consistency? Maybe. Most dominant gregario of all time? Bingo! He might have the best combine score in the peloton (w^2 / kg). But the more drool you emit over his physical characteristics, the more you have to admit that he's underachieved in terms of the goal of crossing finish lines first.

 

[veganrob]

And people with eyebrows felt their foreheads involuntarily shrink.

I just don't think "engine" is the word you're looking for. Recovery? Maybe. Consistency? Maybe. Most dominant gregario of all time? Bingo! He might have the best combine score in the peloton (w^2 / kg). But the more drool you emit over his physical characteristics, the more you have to admit that he's underachieved in terms of the goal of crossing finish lines first.

Agree. He has way more talent than to waste it riding for Vingo.

 

[Volderke]

And people with eyebrows felt their foreheads involuntarily shrink.

I just don't think "engine" is the word you're looking for. Recovery? Maybe. Consistency? Maybe. Most dominant gregario of all time? Bingo! He might have the best combine score in the peloton (w^2 / kg). But the more drool you emit over his physical characteristics, the more you have to admit that he's underachieved in terms of the goal of crossing finish lines first.

I can enjoy a rider making the race and not winning it. Even if that rider is a gregario.

 

[Lequack]

Wout from 2018, before Jumbo Visma

https://twitter.com/x/status/1763315791263363461

View: https://twitter.com/ammattipyoraily/status/1763315791263363461?s=20

 

[tobydawq]

Wout from 2018, before Jumbo Visma

https://twitter.com/x/status/1763315791263363461

View: https://twitter.com/ammattipyoraily/status/1763315791263363461?s=20

It's not as fast as Mathieu when he rode up there in 2021.

Proof that Mathieu > Wout.

 

[Didinho]

Déjà vu to Froome struggling up the climb in Italy. Except he made the race and podium'd.

 

[Salvarani]

Van Aert better be training with the Rocky theme music on repeat before the Ronde.

 

[LookProGoSlow]

He should try to anticipate by attacking racing himself for once. Especially in the minor classics like E3. What do you have to lose? Now it's just reactive riding based on what MvdP does and that breeds mistakes like today and not being in control. I believe he has the physical ability but not the cohones to just try.

 

[Didinho]

He’s also gonna skip E3 next year.

 

[Ilmaestro99]

Let's be honest dear classics fans. Wout van Aert is like a Belgian Pippo Pozzato (but less cool). A pretty boy who has the talent but not the racecraft to win legendary classics.

I miss old posters like this that actually understood the sport. In 2021 it was already obvious

 

[GenericBoonenFan]

I really hope WVA wins a monument this year just to see the excuses some forum members are going to pull out of their ass.

 

[Gwbert]

I really hope WVA wins a monument this year just to see the excuses some forum members are going to pull out of their ass.

Roubaix!

 

[Ripper]

Interesting race today. He might just not have it for the big races. Or, given he's won E3 the last 2 years in a row but had already peaked and was off the winning touch for his targets, he might just have needed a race in his legs and his form could get better from here. Time will tell.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

I still believe Roubaix is his best shot. Also it doesn't take much regardless to turn it around. MVDP crashes in RVV and Wout is 99% likely to win.

 

[GenericBoonenFan]

Roubaix suits him the best indeed. WVAs power comes from his legs (like a sprinter/TTer). Whilst Mathieu uses the combination of his lower back and legs wich suits a climber more. The best way to spot the difference is the frequency of when they're "en danseuse". You see MVDP's back move from left to right whilst Wout doesn't swivel that much.
A flat race like Roubaix, on the cobbles, definitely his best shot.

 

[CyclistAbi]

On the plus side it's all in for PR in 2024 season anyway.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Interesting race today. He might just not have it for the big races. Or, given he's won E3 the last 2 years in a row but had already peaked and was off the winning touch for his targets, he might just have needed a race in his legs and his form could get better from here. Time will tell.

It's not like riders who beat Van der Poel at RVV and PR in the past (Asgreen, Colbrelli etc) are a level above Van Aert. Quite the opposite. So "he might not have it for the big races" is simply not true. The problem is that he is always one of the big favorites, so he can never surprise as an outsider (like Asgreen and Colbrelli for instance) and every 2nd tier rider will always look at him to do the work, to react when Van der Poel for instance attacks. But on the other hand, in a 1v1 he manages to lose, either on power/form, or on tactical dumbfuckery.

Basically, he is too good to be able to race as an underdog and get a free pass by lesser riders or some leeway by the other top favorites. But compared to the other top favorites he misses that killer instinct, that extra top end to make the difference, the tactical nous and sometimes that bit of luck..

 

[Red Rick]

It's not like riders who beat Van der Poel at RVV and PR in the past (Asgreen, Colbrelli etc) are a level above Van Aert. Quite the opposite. So "he might not have it for the big races" is simply not true. The problem is that he is always one of the big favorites, so he can never surprise as an outsider (like Asgreen and Colbrelli for instance) and every 2nd tier rider will always look at him to do the work, to react when Van der Poel for instance attacks. But on the other hand, in a 1v1 he manages to lose, either on power/form, or on tactical dumbfuckery.

Basically, he is too good to be able to race as an underdog and get a free pass by lesser riders or some leeway by the other top favorites. But compared to the other top favorites he misses that killer instinct, that extra top end to make the difference, the tactical nous and sometimes that bit of luck..

It's not like when Asgreen or Colbrelli won MvdP was at this level

 

[Pantani_lives]

My current expectation: he will get another flogging by MvdP in the Tour of Flanders; BUT... One week later he will win Paris-Roubaix.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

It's not like when Asgreen or Colbrelli won MvdP was at this level

This is not as relevant for Van Aert as you may think. Regardless of Van der Poel's level, Van Aert would still be considered too good to get a headstart from the likes of Van der Poel or Pogacar, and too good for 2nd tier riders not to treat him like a big favorite who has to take responsibility in the chase. Even Van der Poel "in this form" didn't win MSR, and it didn't take that much for Matthews to have won it. Would you consider Matthews (or Philipsen for that matter) a level above Van Aert? I assume not. Race conditions change, and before MSR there was only talk about two riders, who ended up cancelling each other out and an outsider won. With a bit more brainpower (RVV'20) and being a bit less unlucky (PR'23) Van Aert could have had 3 monuments by now, vs 2 for MvdP. So to come back to the statement i was responding to, it's not about Van Aert not having the chops to win a big race. It's just that he misses that top-end to dominate those races in such a way that he can claim victory purely on merrit. Basically for Van Aert how good Van der Poel is exactly, is of little importance since he will always be stuck between being too good and not being good enough.

 

[Unchained]

He looks chubby.

With regards to WvA declining or not: he has the biggest engine in the peloton. Not the best in W/kg (Vingegaard, Pogacar), not the most explosive (MvdP), but the biggest. For the last 5 years, and probably for the next 5 years as well.
A rider like WvA is a once in a decade affair. But we're all spoilt these days with many fantastic riders (like Masnada). Those who downplay WvA at this moment in time don't seem to realize they could simply enjoy watching his incredible power, whatever his results / classic wins.

I thought exactly the opposite and thought his legs and mid section looked slightly smaller, thinner. He was flat for last @40k no snap to anything he did.. MVP just rode away from him

 

[AmRacer]

always be stuck between being too good and not being good enough

Mathieu and Tadej haven't that problem. Neither does Remco, I'd say.

 

[Ripper]

It's not like riders who beat Van der Poel at RVV and PR in the past (Asgreen, Colbrelli etc) are a level above Van Aert. Quite the opposite. So "he might not have it for the big races" is simply not true. The problem is that he is always one of the big favorites, so he can never surprise as an outsider (like Asgreen and Colbrelli for instance) and every 2nd tier rider will always look at him to do the work, to react when Van der Poel for instance attacks. But on the other hand, in a 1v1 he manages to lose, either on power/form, or on tactical dumbfuckery.

Basically, he is too good to be able to race as an underdog and get a free pass by lesser riders or some leeway by the other top favorites. But compared to the other top favorites he misses that killer instinct, that extra top end to make the difference, the tactical nous and sometimes that bit of luck..

Got it. Perhaps a more accurate statement (and closer to what I meant) would be "compared to other top favourites, he might not have it for the big races".

A couple of other observations. I suspect the race conditions were a touch of a shock from his altitude camp. Also, not sure how blown out/ready his legs are just a couple of days back from altitude camp.

It's a bit tough to draw too much from today for him. He looked like he might have been feeling sharper, but then had a weird crash at a pretty bad time, and then ran out of steam.

Van der Poel looked fantastic. Next week will be interesting!!