Teams & Riders Official Wout Van Aert thread

[Red Rick]

I'll say the list of better ITTers is a lot simpler than the list of better climbers.

3 chances left to grab a big win this year.

 

[Open Horizon]

Perhaps change the title to Wout Van Aert is the new Poulidor - Eternal Second.

Yep he's still the 'reigning' runner-up in

Cyclocross World Championship
Road Race World Championship
Time Trial World Championship
Road Race Olympics

 

[BlueRoads]

Which rider has the most victories?

Tadej PogaÄar has 25 victories in season 2024 and is leading the victory ranking, before Tim Merlier with 16 wins and Mads Pedersen (12 wins).

www.procyclingstats.com

Eternal second doesn't seem fitting to me.

 

[KZD]

Which rider has the most victories?

Tadej PogaÄar has 25 victories in season 2024 and is leading the victory ranking, before Tim Merlier with 16 wins and Mads Pedersen (12 wins).

www.procyclingstats.com

Eternal second doesn't seem fitting to me.

He is the eternal second only when racing for Belgium in big Championships on the road.

 

[Valanga]

Let's make it a title with a footnote then ;-)

 

[Rackham]

The road race is going to be pure intensity. Watch out for drama (& fireworks).

 

[JosefK]

The road race is going to be pure intensity. Watch out for drama (& fireworks).

What will Belgium do, I wonder? Will they send Little Eddy up the road at some point so Wout can stalk the rest?

 

[Krzysztof_O]

What will Belgium do, I wonder? Will they send Little Eddy up the road at some point so Wout can stalk the rest?

That's exactly what I think will happen. It will be Belgium vs rest of the world. If WVA wants to win this bike race then going on an offense can be a better strategy than marking all attacks. His team is strong but if the race is intense then at some point he may be left with little support (we know what happened at the Olympics when he was the marked man).

 

[Bonimenier]

What will Belgium do, I wonder? Will they send Little Eddy up the road at some point so Wout can stalk the rest?

I can see them being very aggresive so they have to chase as little as possible. The more we see Tim Declercq, the worse they are doing probably.

 

[Red Rick]

Realistically if you have Evenepoel driving a reduced group to set up Van Aert in a sprint who is gonna ride away from that group and or who is gonna beat van Aert in a sprint?

 

[Valanga]

Realistically if you have Evenepoel driving a reduced group to set up Van Aert in a sprint who is gonna ride away from that group and or who is gonna beat van Aert in a sprint?

Colbrelli, MvdP, Asgreen, Alaphilippe.

 

[Red Rick]

Colbrelli, MvdP, Asgreen, Alaphilippe.

These guys won a combined 0 flat bunch sprints this year I think.

 

[Rackham]

Realistically if you have Evenepoel driving a reduced group to set up Van Aert

I think every scenario with a happy ending for Wout van Aert is a "logical scenario" which would work if Evenepoel was a Jumbo Visma teammate & this was another one day race.

The "quaintness" of the worlds is the very fact national teams add some unpredictability in terms of loyalty & behavior. Imagine a small reduced bunch with Evenepoel, WvA, Colbrelli, Magnus Cort (he's someone who can win a flat bunch sprint), Pogacar, Roglic, MvdP, Alaphilippe & some others?

It'll be chaos with attacks & counter attacks. So I don't see this as a forgone conclusion for WvA at all unlike last year for example when the timing of the road race (1 week after the Tour) & the parcours made Alaphilippe pretty much unbeatable as long as he perfected his punch at the right time & no one else was up the road ahead. There's also the fact WvA can also be a bit sketchy with his sprint after a long race (like when he got beaten by Pidcock, or was close to being beaten by the same Pidcock at Amstel & Pogacar in the Olympics).

Still, WvA is the massive massive favorite & that in & of itself adds a huge amount of pressure.

 

[Red Rick]

I think every scenario with a happy ending for Wout van Aert is a "logical scenario" which would work if Evenepoel was a Jumbo Visma teammate & this was another one day race.

The "quaintness" of the worlds is the very fact national teams add some unpredictability in terms of loyalty & behavior. Imagine a small reduced bunch with Evenepoel, WvA, Colbrelli, Magnus Cort (he's someone who can win a flat bunch sprint), Pogacar, Roglic, MvdP, Alaphilippe & some others?

It'll be chaos with attacks & counter attacks. So I don't see this as a forgone conclusion for WvA at all unlike last year for example when the timing of the road race (1 week after the Tour) & the parcours made Alaphilippe pretty much unbeatable as long as he perfected his punch at the right time & no one else was up the road ahead. There's also the fact WvA can also be a bit sketchy with his sprint after a long race (like when he got beaten by Pidcock, or was close to being beaten by the same Pidcock at Amstel & Pogacar in the Olympics).

Still, WvA is the massive massive favorite & that in & of itself adds a huge amount of pressure.

It depends a lot on which sprinters survive the Flemish circuit, but Van Aert in this form should be a very heavy favorite in a reduced sprint vs the names you've put in there. When he got beaten by Pidcock it wasn't from a reduced group and he was definitely over his best shape at that point. I think Van Aert has >50% chance to win in a reduced bunch sprint.

Now I'm not saying Evenepoel can't win, but I do think that unless he goes solo there's a lottery element in if he can bamboozle the lead group he's in, and Evenepoel should beat almost nobody he can't drop.

 

[KZD]

Colbrelli, MvdP, Asgreen, Alaphilippe.

Alaphilippe has been quite poor at sprinting this season, even after a hard race I don't see it likely. As for the other three they have their chances but Van Aert still looks like the strongest which could not be the deciding factor of course.

 

[TourOfSardinia]

I've gradually come to admire Wout's philosophical stance when does not actually win but shows his class on the bike.
I guess the last few CycloCross seasons gave him this karma.
He expresses it well in his recent interview - as reported here (ignore the headline):

A silver medal too many for Wout van Aert in World Championships time trial

Belgian pipped by Ganna on home roads

www.cyclingnews.com

 

[18-Valve. (pithy)]

Wonder if WVA could have won this if he had been 10-15 seconds slower at the first check (with the same legs)

(Don't think either WVA or Ganna (track focus) were at their very best, though. Then again, who was? Asgreen maybe. )

 

[Jagartrott]

Could the bike have made a significant difference?
Cervelo vs. Pinarello.

 

[Bonimenier]

Could the bike have made a significant difference?
Cervelo vs. Pinarello.

Based on this year I don't think the Cervelo TT bike is any worse.

 

[Valanga]

Could the bike have made a significant difference?
Cervelo vs. Pinarello.

Perhaps, but that's really hard to say. Might as well be the other way around... It's gonna be really close anyway.
Their helmets are different as well, so perhaps that's another five seconds.

 

[Valanga]

Wout seems to sit a bit more upright than Ganna as well, perhaps they should lower his handlebars a bit.
Ganna's back is completely flat, Wout's isn't.

That's another 10 seconds. No problem Wout!

Edit: also disc brakes for Wout, rim brakes for Ganna. Must be another aero benefit for Ganna. They should hire me at TJV as Marginal Gain Coach.

 

[limak_]

Edit: also disc brakes for Wout, rim brakes for Ganna. Must be another aero benefit for Ganna. They should hire me at TJV as Marginal Gain Coach.

Disc brakes on a TT bike and on this pancake flat route is the most ridiculous and useless piece of equipment that you could come up with.

 

[Sciatic]

Wout seems to sit a bit more upright than Ganna as well, perhaps they should lower his handlebars a bit.
Ganna's back is completely flat, Wout's isn't.

That's another 10 seconds. No problem Wout!

Edit: also disc brakes for Wout, rim brakes for Ganna. Must be another aero benefit for Ganna. They should hire me at TJV as Marginal Gain Coach.

Seems like riders and their teams have to work out a balance between getting as low as possible without subtracting from the ability to produce maximum power over long distances. But Ganna has put much more into TT training than Wout, so perhaps Wout can still get more aero? Ganna’s position and pedaling are awesome to watch.

 

[BlueRoads]

I think the new Cervelos are at least on par with the Pinarellos, at least the recent Jumbo results in time trials don't hint at weak equipment. And what good is a position that's faster in theory if it doesn't allow you to push your best?
I think the course suited enormous big power-houses just fine, and Ganna is such a guy; there was no up and down, and hardly anything technical which would have brought van Aert an advantage.
So, actually, van Aert did pretty well. (And Evenepoel was very strong.)

 

[tobydawq]

And what good is a position that's faster in theory if it doesn't allow you to push your best?

Well, if the aero gains make up for more than the loss of power to result in a net speed increase, I should say it would be pretty good.