Teams & Riders Official Wout Van Aert thread

[Ilmaestro99]

Guys I am joking slightly about wout being peaked too early, it's just a meme that he wins the warm up races, and I'm trying to be positive after a Dissapointing day of racing.

I'm not joking about him being a Belgian pippo though

 

[Lequack]

Wout: "Haha, go ahead, you win"
Laporte: "Haha, no, you go ahead and win"

 

[BigCoward]

He really needs to start winning fewer races and more that really really matter. His results in monuments, WC, Olympics is nowhere near where it should be with his talent.

 

[Bakkie]

Boonen was 2nd in 2012 Omloop, and later he won E3, GW, RVV en PR. In 2012 omloop he was beaten by Sep VanMarcke in a sprint a deux.

The Omloop -Ronde prophecy was almost beaten than.

 

[SHAD0W93]

Wout: "Haha, go ahead, you win"
Laporte: "Haha, no, you go ahead and win"

There’s Laporte again showing his greatness by pushing WVA forward so he could win. When Laporte retires other riders will find out how hard it is to win without him.

 

[hfer07]

The new "Bromance" between WvA & Laporte is becoming iconic

 

[stonerider]

I'm glad Wout has changed his strategy for these classics. It seems in years past he played defense, always chasing down attacks and trying to rely on his sprint to win from a small group. I said in the past that with his superior time trialing abilities, he should be the one to attack first and then settle into a time trial to the finish and force others to chase him. Doing that, he's now won two northern classics this spring.

 

[Red Rick]

Just so hard to decide if hes that much stronger than last year or if the opposition so far is that much weaker. Probably a bit of both along with a much better team

 

[Boes]

Just so hard to decide if hes that much stronger than last year or if the opposition so far is that much weaker. Probably a bit of both along with a much better team

A bit of both. His 4-5 weeks pauze after WC in Leuven and not riding the WC Cyclo cross has certainly added some depth in his current form but don't forget the only real top cobble rider he dropped on the Paterberg yesterday was Asgreen. All respect to guys like Girmay and Mohoric but they're not (yet) the same level as MVP, Pogacar or Alaphillipe.

Flanders will be a completely different race. I don't believe WVA will finish solo. It'll be a sprint of 2-4 guys.

 

[stonerider]

Just so hard to decide if hes that much stronger than last year or if the opposition so far is that much weaker. Probably a bit of both along with a much better team

He is fresher than last year...not necessarily stronger. He isn't racing as much so he's able to be fresh and taper properly for his big targets. If you are motivated and have a good training plan, you can get fit better training versus racing. People who need racing to get fit just aren't motivated to push themselves hard enough in training on certain days.

 

[tobydawq]

Only 12th today. Worst result in a one-day race since Amstel 2019...

28 one-day races started and finished in that period.

 

[OlavEH]

Only 12th today. Worst result in a one-day race since Amstel 2019...

28 one-day races started and finished in that period.

Pretty impressive.

And he showed the last time on Kemmelberg that he is a BIG favorite next weekend. Only Laporte seems anywhere close to following him on the cobbled hills now. Next weekend I will be suprised if anyone other than VdP can beat him (given no sickness or accidents of course).

 

[tobydawq]

Pretty impressive.

And he showed the last time on Kemmelberg that he is a BIG favorite next weekend. Only Laporte seems anywhere close to following him on the cobbled hills now. Next weekend I will be suprised if anyone other than VdP can beat him (given no sickness or accidents of course).

Pogacar will be an interesting factor too.

 

[Nick2413]

Only 12th today. Worst result in a one-day race since Amstel 2019...

28 one-day races started and finished in that period.

He looked so much stronger than Laporte at the end of Harelbeke the other day but then the opposite happened today, was this just positioning or a bad day?

 

[Panda Claws]

Only 12th today. Worst result in a one-day race since Amstel 2019...

28 one-day races started and finished in that period.

I wish he wouldn't deny to sprint for a placement so often. Find it bordering on distasteful at this point.

 

[Ripper]

He looked so much stronger than Laporte at the end of Harelbeke the other day but then the opposite happened today, was this just positioning or a bad day?

I think the plan was to let somebody else go for it, and manage his own energy reserves. E3 was more of a target than today's race, and of course the next two weekends are huge.

 

[tobydawq]

I think the plan was to let somebody else go for it, and manage his own energy reserves. E3 was more of a target than today's race, and of course the next two weekends are huge.

Remember that Roubaix is not the week after Flanders this year.

 

[Bolder]

He looked so much stronger than Laporte at the end of Harelbeke the other day but then the opposite happened today, was this just positioning or a bad day?

Well, JV couldn’t very well chase down Laporte, so Wout was a bit at the mercy of other teams. I thought he looked as strong as anybody today, too.

 

[OlavEH]

He looked so much stronger than Laporte at the end of Harelbeke the other day but then the opposite happened today, was this just positioning or a bad day?

He was stronger on Kemmelberg today compared to Laporte then he was on Paterberg on Friday. Poor positiong cost him a few seconds, but still I don't think he would have stayed clear for the whole distance. It would have been to many men chasing him.

 

[OlavEH]

Pogacar will be an interesting factor too.

Yep, I can see that. RVV is usually about being the strongest rider, and right now I think Pog very well might be as strong as any of the classic specialists save for the two Vans.

 

[RedheadDane]

Remember that Roubaix is not the week after Flanders this year.

He might wanna defend his AGR title, though.

 

[tobydawq]

He might wanna defend his AGR title, though.

But that was hardly what was meant by the post...

 

[tobydawq]

I wish he wouldn't deny to sprint for a placement so often. Find it bordering on distasteful at this point.

He did actually sprint today, he even made a lunge for the line, I just don't think he saw the point in risking too much to get a good position before the sprint.

 

[Ripper]

Remember that Roubaix is not the week after Flanders this year.

Yar, forgot about that! I don't think it changes too much, as I don't think this race was a massive target for him and JV wanted to distribute the possibility of wins to other people in the team. Laporte got away with the break, and they certainly wanted to give him his own chance.

 

[Ilmaestro99]

Wout showed today that he won't win flanders