Teams & Riders Official Wout Van Aert thread

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Cookster15

Cookster15

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May 14, 2011
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Fans are angry but also confused as to why their local hero isn't up to the task of competing with the likes of Van der Poel and Tadej Pogačar, especially after skipping Strade Bianche and Milan-San Remo – big races he has won previously – in favour of three weeks at altitude.
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www.cyclingnews.com

'He's one of the best riders of all time' – Jorgenson defends Van Aert ahead of final Flanders test at Dwars door Vlaanderen

Visma duo return to the race where Van Aert crashed out of the Classics last season, but on a 'significantly' different course
www.cyclingnews.com www.cyclingnews.com

Not sure why people are angry. He is doing the work (eg altitude camps), logic says the results should come. If wins don't come it simply means others were better. Nothing to get angry over ?
 
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A

Alien Performance

Jan 20, 2020
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Van Aert has almost as many monuments as one of the other best one day riders of all time, Dan Martin and just as many as fabled one day specialists Esteban Chaves and Mathew Hayman - to not consider him as one of the all time greats with Merck and Kelly is to disrespect cycling himself.

Jokes aside - that table would look far more favourable for WVA if cyclocross worlds were counted ;)
 
Ripper

Ripper

Sep 14, 2009
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Cookster15 said:
www.cyclingnews.com

'He's one of the best riders of all time' – Jorgenson defends Van Aert ahead of final Flanders test at Dwars door Vlaanderen

Visma duo return to the race where Van Aert crashed out of the Classics last season, but on a 'significantly' different course
www.cyclingnews.com www.cyclingnews.com

Not sure why people are angry. He is doing the work (eg altitude camps), logic says the results should come. If wins don't come it simply means others were better. Nothing to get angry over ?
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I don't know why their angry, some people get very emotional about this stuff.

But I can appreciate that people don't think he is doing enough work, or enough of the right work. While he is off training in sunny Tenerife, putting in lots of miles, he's not racing and not fine tuning his racecraft and positioning. And his race sharpness and positioning seem to be ongoing issues at the beginning of the year. He also seems to improve best through lots of racing, especially stage racing, like we see closer to the end of the season.

I guess we'll find out over the next week or two.
 
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Berniece

Berniece

Sep 12, 2022
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Cookster15 said:
I’ll say. I’ve been following this sport since the 80s. But it was only this year with the rising anticipation of RVV (MVDP vs Pog) that I gained a better appreciation of the level of following of the sport in Belgium. Definitely fans become emotionally involved.
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You weren’t aware of that when you saw the audience during RVV? There’s nothing like it
 
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Rackham

Rackham

Jul 16, 2015
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Didinho said:
2nd place. He’s so back.

No that was just bad tactics. If Wout attacks as 2nd he wins solo.
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WvA had two ways he could win today. Visma had something like 6 or more ways to win.

I feel bad for him because after the season he's had so far (& Visma's performance in the classics) they somehow managed to mess up a perfect day with a nightmare finish that'll be the subject of mockery (& deservedly so) for a long time.

It was perfect Rabofail on a grand scale. To say that was bad for morale would be an understatement. It was stupid as well because the performance in and of itself would have given a boost before Sunday. WvA didn't need to win for it to be a great day for him. Seeing Benoot or Jorgenson go solo to the line would have been perfectly acceptable.
 
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L

Low is rhe new high

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Since previous he always peaked to early for Ronde and PR his form curve seems to be pointing in the right direction this year. Considering he was at altitude less than a week ago and probably had a heavy workload he might actually reach the sweat spot of form on Sunday and the keep it there for a few weeks. If he now understands that the only way he can ever beat Pogi and MVP is when he is at his absolute maximum best ( like in tdf 2022/23) I think he is on a good plan.
 
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Red Rick

Red Rick

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Rackham said:
WvA had two ways he could win today. Visma had something like 6 or more ways to win.

I feel bad for him because after the season he's had so far (& Visma's performance in the classics) they somehow managed to mess up a perfect day with a nightmare finish that'll be the subject of mockery (& deservedly so) for a long time.

It was perfect Rabofail on a grand scale. To say that was bad for morale would be an understatement. It was stupid as well because the performance in and of itself would have given a boost before Sunday. WvA didn't need to win for it to be a great day for him. Seeing Benoot or Jorgenson go solo to the line would have been perfectly acceptable.
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The real sad part is he wanted to win because of all the criticism he's gotten, so basically he's let himself get rattled by some washed up 40+ year olds who couldn't sniff Pogs wheel if he's doing zone 2 training.

For confidence and optics both I kinda think it was a no-win situation, cause even winning in a sprint looks kinda stupid and shouldn't give that much confidence for taking on Pogacar and MvdP come Sunday. And if you lose it's the worst possible scenario.

It is good though that he owned up to it that it was his decision
 
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J

jono

Jan 31, 2021
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Low is rhe new high said:
Since previous he always peaked to early for Ronde and PR his form curve seems to be pointing in the right direction this year. Considering he was at altitude less than a week ago and probably had a heavy workload he might actually reach the sweat spot of form on Sunday and the keep it there for a few weeks. If he now understands that the only way he can ever beat Pogi and MVP is when he is at his absolute maximum best ( like in tdf 2022/23) I think he is on a good plan.
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After splitting the race, Wout did the least work of the Vismas in the group and then tied up in the sprint of a 180k race. It seems his base/stamina is really lacking. Usually it's just sharpness you might be missing in your first few race day or two coming down from altitude.
 
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James M

James M

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Red Rick said:
The real sad part is he wanted to win because of all the criticism he's gotten, so basically he's let himself get rattled by some washed up 40+ year olds who couldn't sniff Pogs wheel if he's doing zone 2 training.

For confidence and optics both I kinda think it was a no-win situation, cause even winning in a sprint looks kinda stupid and shouldn't give that much confidence for taking on Pogacar and MvdP come Sunday. And if you lose it's the worst possible scenario.

It is good though that he owned up to it that it was his decision
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WVA gave an honest response, but I can’t help feeling bad for him—even as someone who isn’t a fan, Ive always respected him. The pressure on him is enormous. In cycling terms, half of that nation is delusional.

If we’re talking about pure strength at the peak of his power, a cobbled monument should reflect his greatness. Part of me hopes he can win PR. While it doesn’t seem likely at all to me, with enough luck, he could do it. He deserves to go out with a bang—not like this.
 
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James M

James M

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Mayomaniac said:
Neither Wout nor the team are smart enough to pull that one off, after today I actually believe the washed Wout narrative a bit more...
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It’s not a conspiracy theory. He said he can’t put as much power as he used to on his foot he hurt his knee in the Vuelta. It’s an imbalance, and the injuries have clearly taken their toll, accelerating the downhill.
 
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T

theyoungest

Jan 11, 2010
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Rackham said:
WvA had two ways he could win today. Visma had something like 6 or more ways to win.

I feel bad for him because after the season he's had so far (& Visma's performance in the classics) they somehow managed to mess up a perfect day with a nightmare finish that'll be the subject of mockery (& deservedly so) for a long time.

It was perfect Rabofail on a grand scale. To say that was bad for morale would be an understatement. It was stupid as well because the performance in and of itself would have given a boost before Sunday. WvA didn't need to win for it to be a great day for him. Seeing Benoot or Jorgenson go solo to the line would have been perfectly acceptable.
Click to expand...
I know you want to turn Van Aert into some kind of victim, but apparently it was his call to go for the sprint. If you can blame the team for anything it's that they somehow regard his personal ambitions as more important than playing it smart and hedging their bets.

I don't dislike Van Aert, but he's not someone you bet everything on. He's no Van der Poel, who always wins in a situation like this. It's incomprehensible even for Van Aert to want this pressure... but he did, and he asked for it.
 
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