Teams & Riders Official Wout Van Aert thread

[Dekker_Tifosi]

He uploaded his ride. He found his legs on the Kwaremont. (3:10)

still a lot slower than VDP and Pedersen. Faster than Ganna tho

 

[jono]

still a lot slower than VDP and Pedersen. Faster than Ganna tho

On par with Pedersen, I think.

 

[Fucine]

Hello everyone

I think it's not true that Wout van Aert is not suited for the Monument Classics, and saying that he should have only competed for stage wins in the GTs means denying the obvious mistakes made by him and Jumbo.

The point is that Wout is not particularly suited to the Tour of Flanders (and similar races) compared to Van der Poel and Pogacar because he is not maximally competitive in short, repeated efforts. He has poor results in the Classics and, in general, a very underwhelming palmarès because he wasted his career by focusing his seasons on the Tour of Flanders and generally making poor choices about the races to target. But all of his major physical and mental struggles stem from the decision to focus on the Tour of Flanders and the resulting frustration. I'm not saying he shouldn't race, it’s just that it’s not wise to build the entire season around one race and place all expectations on it. That kind of focus can really backfire if things don't go as planned. One could argue that WvA didn’t put everything into the Tour of Flanders but also into Paris-Roubaix, and this is true. However, the Flanders has much more weight because it takes place first, and Roubaix becomes a rematch; Its mental impact is much greater, especially considering that WvA is Flemish.

In Milan-San Remo, a rider like him is always competitive for the win because the race is not that hard, and if you don’t drop him, he can beat you in a sprint. In fact, he has 1 win and 2 third-place finishes, but in 2024-25, he didn’t even race... A 2024-like WvA could have contested the win both in 2024 itself (which ended in a sprint) and this year (Pogacar and Van Der Poel would have dropped him, but he could have stayed with Ganna; the two of them would have bridged the gap much easier for the sprint, and both could have had a chance to win).

At Paris-Roubaix, he has always been competitive for the win, except in 2021 (when Roubaix was atypical, being run at the end of the season). In 2022, he finished second after coming back from COVID (dropping Van der Poel), and in 2023, he would have at least reached the sprint with Van der Poel. Given that it’s completely flat and involves efforts of somewhat longer intervals, Van der Poel might struggle more to drop him. He’s also been a bit unlucky here:

• In 2019, he had several crashes that forced him into a long and spectacular chase.
• In 2020, the race was canceled; had it taken place during the same week as the Tour of Flanders, he would have surely been favored.
• In 2021, the race was moved to the end of the season, and his tank was empty.
• In 2022, he was coming back from COVID after missing the Tour of Flanders.
• In 2023, the puncture was partly his fault, but he was also a bit unlucky.
• In 2024, the crash at Dwaars removed him from contention.

Additionally, he missed very good chances simply because he didn’t raced. In 2020, he had a great chance to win Il Lombardia (where Fuglsang barely dropped G. Bennett on the San Fermo; a week later, at the Tour de France, Bennett was weaker than WvA in the climbs), while in 2022, he would likely have won the World Time Trial Championship, which was instead taken by Foss (the course was very suited to him and atypical with many accelerations; Ganna was out of form; in 2021, at Leuven, he lost by 5 seconds to Ganna on a completely flat course with no corners).

Perhaps, given his ability to excel in 5-minute efforts rather than repeated maximal 30-second bursts, he could have tried to shed a bit of weight and aimed to contest Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Lombardia. But beyond this, the frustration of not being able to compete in the Tour of Flanders has harmed him both mentally and physically, putting him in a vicious cycle of poor focus and crashes (the puncture at Paris-Roubaix 2023, as well as the crashes last year, were mainly caused by his lack of focus, stemming from the obsession with needing to win). The rest was due to his stay in Belgium (with all the pressures he faces at home - not by coincidence, Van der Poel left for Spain) and poor management by Jumbo (which for years seemed more focused on having him as a luxury domestique at the Tour rather than trying to make him a winner – by contrast, Van der Poel is in a team almost entirely built around him).

Now he is probably down both mentally and physically (the injuries he has had are difficult to recover from because you can never accumulate work, unlike your opponents). The hope is that his physical condition will improve for the Giro d'Italia and that there, he might find some peace through results. I hope I'm wrong, but I fear that his time at the top is over.

 

[JoãoRamos]

Wout will be competitive in RVV no doubt. Still it will be really tough to match MVDP.

Like today, 4 min behind? It was so embarrassing.

 

[Blanco]

Big 6 is reduced to Big 3

I would say Big 2 only...

 

[hayneplane]

What was even more concerning going forward about E3 was that even in the final sprint it looked like he was properly trying to get as high a placing as possible yet got dusted by guys like Teunisson and Fedorov.

 

[JoãoRamos]

He is washed. Stick a fork in him.

Retire for your fans Wout.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

He is washed. Stick a fork in him.

It sounds like I've been doing my washing completely wrong.

 

[VayaVayaVaya]

I think WvA isn't recovered (and maybe never will?) from his crashes last year. His knee looks like it's mauled by a bear.

He looks heavier and slower since.

But yes, WvA once was the best rider in the universe. Tokyo Olympics.

Oh my god that’s his knee???? That is gnarly AF

 

[VayaVayaVaya]

I would say Big 2 only...

Ok I’ll bite - who are you referring to? Remco and Roglic?

 

[Peyroteo94]

Oh my god that’s his knee???? That is gnarly AF

When I saw his knee (January or February), I just got Dumoulin vibes.

 

[stekelegel]

I think the only thing wrong with WVA has been that he is too good in too many things. He is the best allround cyclist in a very long time. He can win bunch sprints, he is top ITT, he can win any classic and probably could ride top 5 in a GT if he focussed on it. And he isnt to bad at cyclo cross too. He is / was or could be top 5 in every discipline of cycling. But his track record will end up rather poorly when compared to his immense talent.
Why? Obviously because he has been terribly unlucky, with injuries, falls, punctures,... Especially monuments and championships never ever seem to go his way.
He also has the bad luck to race in probably the best area in a long long time. Starting out vs Sagan and Alaphilppe was never easy, but competing against MVDP, Pog, Evenepoel, ITT riders like Ganna. All guys who are as good as him or sometimes just a bit better then him on their terrain.
And I think a lot of people here are right that he has been mismanaged, misunderstood or misused. So good at so many things, that it was never easy to choose. Never easy to skip something and can you blame him for wanting to win his home classic, the green jersey or help his team win the TDF? But in hindsight, he probably always rode a little bit to much...
Coming from cyclo took away some of his formative years where it would have been easier to truly identify what should have been his focus.

The only thing that seems to be missing is some sort of killer instict.
And it is truly sad that a nice guy with such immens talent will end up nearly empty handed when compared to MVDP or Pog.

 

[Peyroteo94]

I think the only thing wrong with WVA has been that he is too good in too many things. He is the best allround cyclist in a very long time. He can win bunch sprints, he is top ITT, he can win any classic and probably could ride top 5 in a GT if he focussed on it. And he isnt to bad at cyclo cross too. He is / was or could be top 5 in every discipline of cycling. But his track record will end up rather poorly when compared to his immense talent.
Why? Obviously because he has been terribly unlucky, with injuries, falls, punctures,... Especially monuments and championships never ever seem to go his way.
He also has the bad luck to race in probably the best area in a long long time. Starting out vs Sagan and Alaphilppe was never easy, but competing against MVDP, Pog, Evenepoel, ITT riders like Ganna. All guys who are as good as him or sometimes just a bit better then him on their terrain.
And I think a lot of people here are right that he has been mismanaged, misunderstood or misused. So good at so many things, that it was never easy to choose. Never easy to skip something and can you blame him for wanting to win his home classic, the green jersey or help his team win the TDF? But in hindsight, he probably always rode a little bit to much...
Coming from cyclo took away some of his formative years where it would have been easier to truly identify what should have been his focus.

The only thing that seems to be missing is some sort of killer instict.
And it is truly sad that a nice guy with such immens talent will end up nearly empty handed when compared to MVDP or Pog.

I stop reading when you included Ganna as a rider of the best era.
WVA is not the best all around rider in the world. It is Pogacar. He is almost having 100 wins st 26 years old, when WVA has 49...

 

[Ripper]

I honestly get the impression that Wout responds much better to racing efforts, particularly stage races. Which is likely why he is often so good later in the year. I don't think the altitude work at Tenerife immediately before his main goals of the year is a winning strategy. I think he would benefit greatly from participating in stage races and the traditional run in of MSR, etc.

Obviously the spring classics are still underway and this is the first race after altitude, so things may change. But unless there is a dramatic change, he really needs a dramatic change in training and preparation.

 

[veganrob]

2020 TdF worst thing to ever happen to his career.

 

[E_F_]

I think WvA isn't recovered (and maybe never will?) from his crashes last year. His knee looks like it's mauled by a bear.

He looks heavier and slower since.

But yes, WvA once was the best rider in the universe. Tokyo Olympics.

(Not) Bees' Knee(s)

 

[Rackham]

Hello everyone

I think it's not true that Wout van Aert is not suited for the Monument Classics, and saying that he should have only competed for stage wins in the GTs means denying the obvious mistakes made by him and Jumbo.

The point is that Wout is not particularly suited to the Tour of Flanders (and similar races) compared to Van der Poel and Pogacar because he is not maximally competitive in short, repeated efforts. He has poor results in the Classics and, in general, a very underwhelming palmarès because he wasted his career by focusing his seasons on the Tour of Flanders and generally making poor choices about the races to target. But all of his major physical and mental struggles stem from the decision to focus on the Tour of Flanders and the resulting frustration. I'm not saying he shouldn't race, it’s just that it’s not wise to build the entire season around one race and place all expectations on it. That kind of focus can really backfire if things don't go as planned. One could argue that WvA didn’t put everything into the Tour of Flanders but also into Paris-Roubaix, and this is true. However, the Flanders has much more weight because it takes place first, and Roubaix becomes a rematch; Its mental impact is much greater, especially considering that WvA is Flemish.

In Milan-San Remo, a rider like him is always competitive for the win because the race is not that hard, and if you don’t drop him, he can beat you in a sprint. In fact, he has 1 win and 2 third-place finishes, but in 2024-25, he didn’t even race... A 2024-like WvA could have contested the win both in 2024 itself (which ended in a sprint) and this year (Pogacar and Van Der Poel would have dropped him, but he could have stayed with Ganna; the two of them would have bridged the gap much easier for the sprint, and both could have had a chance to win).

At Paris-Roubaix, he has always been competitive for the win, except in 2021 (when Roubaix was atypical, being run at the end of the season). In 2022, he finished second after coming back from COVID (dropping Van der Poel), and in 2023, he would have at least reached the sprint with Van der Poel. Given that it’s completely flat and involves efforts of somewhat longer intervals, Van der Poel might struggle more to drop him. He’s also been a bit unlucky here:

• In 2019, he had several crashes that forced him into a long and spectacular chase.
• In 2020, the race was canceled; had it taken place during the same week as the Tour of Flanders, he would have surely been favored.
• In 2021, the race was moved to the end of the season, and his tank was empty.
• In 2022, he was coming back from COVID after missing the Tour of Flanders.
• In 2023, the puncture was partly his fault, but he was also a bit unlucky.
• In 2024, the crash at Dwaars removed him from contention.

Additionally, he missed very good chances simply because he didn’t raced. In 2020, he had a great chance to win Il Lombardia (where Fuglsang barely dropped G. Bennett on the San Fermo; a week later, at the Tour de France, Bennett was weaker than WvA in the climbs), while in 2022, he would likely have won the World Time Trial Championship, which was instead taken by Foss (the course was very suited to him and atypical with many accelerations; Ganna was out of form; in 2021, at Leuven, he lost by 5 seconds to Ganna on a completely flat course with no corners).

Perhaps, given his ability to excel in 5-minute efforts rather than repeated maximal 30-second bursts, he could have tried to shed a bit of weight and aimed to contest Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Lombardia. But beyond this, the frustration of not being able to compete in the Tour of Flanders has harmed him both mentally and physically, putting him in a vicious cycle of poor focus and crashes (the puncture at Paris-Roubaix 2023, as well as the crashes last year, were mainly caused by his lack of focus, stemming from the obsession with needing to win). The rest was due to his stay in Belgium (with all the pressures he faces at home - not by coincidence, Van der Poel left for Spain) and poor management by Jumbo (which for years seemed more focused on having him as a luxury domestique at the Tour rather than trying to make him a winner – by contrast, Van der Poel is in a team almost entirely built around him).

Now he is probably down both mentally and physically (the injuries he has had are difficult to recover from because you can never accumulate work, unlike your opponents). The hope is that his physical condition will improve for the Giro d'Italia and that there, he might find some peace through results. I hope I'm wrong, but I fear that his time at the top is over.

You're missing one of his weaknesses, i.e. just like Roglič, WvA suffers more in longer race distances - specifically when it comes to one day races. It's been a trend for many, many years and in fact some people used to speculate it was a Jumbo problem as well.

I also don't see how or why WvA at his current level would have held Ganna's wheel on Cipressa in Milan San Remo behind Pog and VdP. It's a fanciful projection. I'd say it would have been far more likely he'd end up in the bunch behind sprinting for 4th with Pedersen and the others.

 

[Berniece]

I stop reading when you included Ganna as a rider of the best era.
WVA is not the best all around rider in the world. It is Pogacar. He is almost having 100 wins st 26 years old, when WVA has 49...

You missed his point completely

 

[Salvarani]

I been saying Leuven was his chance to win the WC and he probably would have done so if the team had been riding for him, which they should have been on that route. Would have been a great story and probably the biggest win of his career, on home turf as well. Too bad that young fella had to ruin it for him with his sabotage ride that day.

 

[Arvid Falk]

Signs are worrying, but I still think WVA will be better in RVV and PR. Question is if he will be good enough to challenge MVDP and Pog, and strong riders like Pedersen and Ganna (in PR). I have my doubts regarding RVV, MVDP and Pog just seem too strong in this race. Best chance is probably PR, do all to hold MVDP's wheel over the cobbles and then try to win the sprint.

 

[Monsi]

I been saying Leuven was his chance to win the WC and he probably would have done so if the team had been riding for him, which they should have been on that route. Would have been a great story and probably the biggest win of his career, on home turf as well. Too bad that young fella had to ruin it for him with his sabotage ride that day.

Uhhmmm he was just not near his best that day iirc. Just couldn't follow Alaphilippe's attacks. I actually kind of blame the Tour of Britain that year for Wout's dwindling form in the Worlds-Roubaix. I thought he may have peaked too early at that race instead of Worlds-Roubaix.

 

[Salvarani]

Uhhmmm he was just not near his best that day iirc. Just couldn't follow Alaphilippe's attacks. I actually kind of blame the Tour of Britain that year for Wout's dwindling form in the Worlds-Roubaix. I thought he may have peaked too early at that race instead of Worlds-Roubaix.

I think the team could have controlled it a bit more and he would have won a sprint. Instead of having rogue riders in the team doing their own thing, which yielded no results other than make it a different race than what it should have been and that was only benefitting other nations/riders.

They should have backed him fully in this race.

 

[ChasingPotatoes]

He uploaded his ride. He found his legs on the Kwaremont. (3:10)

That’s a glimmer of hope. If you’re abysmally bad, you can’t do a top 10 time on Kwaremont. Still, if not being in position before taaienberg was due to a lack of rhythm, and optimistically even assume some super compensation can be had in the coming time, next week seems too early to do anything meaningful but to aim for 3rd. I have more hope for Roubaix.

 

[Divergence]

I think what I'm getting at is the discourse around this rider is based on something that's lost in translation.

When he dominates his job in the TdF (does really good work for his GC leader and wins some stages), for some reason there's a whole bunch of people who see that and interpret it as 'oh yeah, let's now win Flanders + Roubaix or bust'

I mean unless his Vuelta crash has somehow crippled him and made him 'lesser', he was still totally smashing the points classification and winning stages before his DNF. That's what he's good at. But then Visma and the whole Belgian world once again start obsessing over the spring campaign - again.

I don't know man but Wout van Aert is a formidable bike rider in his own right when doing what he does best. Fighting VdP is not what he does best. And when Wout van Aert is riding on the front in the Tour doing pulls for Vingegaard or winning stages, VdP will be riding gruppetto.

So, each to their own, right? VdP is a different type of rider.

Let me remind you of the TdF 21. VdP was better than Wout in all kinds of different stages, including the TT. The reason why people believe Wout is so much better than MvdP in stage races is that WvA tries to race at his best and MvdP is usually messing around and maybe doing a leadoff (exept the 21 edition of the TdF where he was riding for his grandfather).

He gets cooked in the Worlds as well. I mean it's not just the spring campaign, is it? It's Leuven 2021 and all the rest.

I'm not in his head and I have no idea what Visma really think either. I just see with my own eyes and this rider is good at stuff and less good at other stuff.

Winning Roubaix is a pipe dream at this point.

I have said it many times already, WvA need to change his team in order to prosper. The Vismas are stuck in some mentality that only a few people can prosper in. WvA is not one of those.

I think the team could have controlled it a bit more and he would have won a sprint. Instead of having rogue riders in the team doing their own thing, which yielded no results other than make it a different race than what it should have been and that was only benefitting other nations/riders.

They should have backed him fully in this race.

I agree. At least for a couple of races, just put everybody at the front (even the American) and just tell them to ride fully for their leader. None of this nonsense where Jorgenson thinks he is actually in a position to win a classic. Or sending doms in breakaways. Just commit to Wout and let us see what he can do.

 

[Netserk]

Hello everyone

I think it's not true that Wout van Aert is not suited for the Monument Classics, and saying that he should have only competed for stage wins in the GTs means denying the obvious mistakes made by him and Jumbo.

The point is that Wout is not particularly suited to the Tour of Flanders (and similar races) compared to Van der Poel and Pogacar because he is not maximally competitive in short, repeated efforts. He has poor results in the Classics and, in general, a very underwhelming palmarès because he wasted his career by focusing his seasons on the Tour of Flanders and generally making poor choices about the races to target. But all of his major physical and mental struggles stem from the decision to focus on the Tour of Flanders and the resulting frustration. I'm not saying he shouldn't race, it’s just that it’s not wise to build the entire season around one race and place all expectations on it. That kind of focus can really backfire if things don't go as planned. One could argue that WvA didn’t put everything into the Tour of Flanders but also into Paris-Roubaix, and this is true. However, the Flanders has much more weight because it takes place first, and Roubaix becomes a rematch; Its mental impact is much greater, especially considering that WvA is Flemish.

In Milan-San Remo, a rider like him is always competitive for the win because the race is not that hard, and if you don’t drop him, he can beat you in a sprint. In fact, he has 1 win and 2 third-place finishes, but in 2024-25, he didn’t even race... A 2024-like WvA could have contested the win both in 2024 itself (which ended in a sprint) and this year (Pogacar and Van Der Poel would have dropped him, but he could have stayed with Ganna; the two of them would have bridged the gap much easier for the sprint, and both could have had a chance to win).

At Paris-Roubaix, he has always been competitive for the win, except in 2021 (when Roubaix was atypical, being run at the end of the season). In 2022, he finished second after coming back from COVID (dropping Van der Poel), and in 2023, he would have at least reached the sprint with Van der Poel. Given that it’s completely flat and involves efforts of somewhat longer intervals, Van der Poel might struggle more to drop him. He’s also been a bit unlucky here:

• In 2019, he had several crashes that forced him into a long and spectacular chase.
• In 2020, the race was canceled; had it taken place during the same week as the Tour of Flanders, he would have surely been favored.
• In 2021, the race was moved to the end of the season, and his tank was empty.
• In 2022, he was coming back from COVID after missing the Tour of Flanders.
• In 2023, the puncture was partly his fault, but he was also a bit unlucky.
• In 2024, the crash at Dwaars removed him from contention.

Additionally, he missed very good chances simply because he didn’t raced. In 2020, he had a great chance to win Il Lombardia (where Fuglsang barely dropped G. Bennett on the San Fermo; a week later, at the Tour de France, Bennett was weaker than WvA in the climbs), while in 2022, he would likely have won the World Time Trial Championship, which was instead taken by Foss (the course was very suited to him and atypical with many accelerations; Ganna was out of form; in 2021, at Leuven, he lost by 5 seconds to Ganna on a completely flat course with no corners).

Perhaps, given his ability to excel in 5-minute efforts rather than repeated maximal 30-second bursts, he could have tried to shed a bit of weight and aimed to contest Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Lombardia. But beyond this, the frustration of not being able to compete in the Tour of Flanders has harmed him both mentally and physically, putting him in a vicious cycle of poor focus and crashes (the puncture at Paris-Roubaix 2023, as well as the crashes last year, were mainly caused by his lack of focus, stemming from the obsession with needing to win). The rest was due to his stay in Belgium (with all the pressures he faces at home - not by coincidence, Van der Poel left for Spain) and poor management by Jumbo (which for years seemed more focused on having him as a luxury domestique at the Tour rather than trying to make him a winner – by contrast, Van der Poel is in a team almost entirely built around him).

Now he is probably down both mentally and physically (the injuries he has had are difficult to recover from because you can never accumulate work, unlike your opponents). The hope is that his physical condition will improve for the Giro d'Italia and that there, he might find some peace through results. I hope I'm wrong, but I fear that his time at the top is over.

Thank you for the thoughtful post, I agree.