Teams & Riders Official Wout Van Aert thread

[Low is rhe new high]

He is the most popular rider globally. For example, number of followers on Instagram. What metric do you have to show Wout is more popular globally?

Yeah there is probably a lot of fanatic Slovenians on instagram following Pogacar.

 

[Red Rick]

Where is Pogacar more popular? I can understand if he is more popular in Slovenia? Maybe he is more popular in UAE as well? But apart from those small strange countries?

I'd think Pogacar is by far the most popular rider among the very casual cycling fans.

 

[canina82]

I'd think Pogacar is by far the most popular rider among the very casual cycling fans.

Wout is belgian so the biggest cycling nation is wirh him. For example, italians seem to like Pogacar a lot, mroe than Wout.

 

[tobydawq]

To use a common Dutch expression

"Lekker gewerkt, pik"

I hope pik means something else in Dutch than in Danish...

 

[Red Rick]

I hope pik means something else in Dutch than in Danish...

No.....

 

[tobydawq]

Goosebumps, tears, heartbeats, broken voice. I'm so filled with joy right now.

Well, you did politely ask Tadej to let Wout win, right?

 

[noob]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2043413971667931237

View: https://x.com/tatxu73/status/2043413971667931237

 

[YavorD]

Yeah there is probably a lot of fanatic Slovenians on instagram following Pogacar.

Slovenia is only 2 million people though.
Some of them don't care about cycling, some don't like Pogacar (my impression is that Pogacar isn't overly loved there) and others don't use Instagram/randomly follow celebrities.

Overall, I'd say probably 10% of Pog followers are Slovenians. Not "a lot".

 

[jmdirt]

I'd think Pogacar is by far the most popular rider among the very casual cycling fans.

The Tdf winner usually is.

 

[Wvv]

Well, you did politely ask Tadej to let Wout win, right?

Haha, he had two Sundays to answer my call, that's true.
Although Wout pulled this one off all by himself. Righteously so.

 

[Pantani_lives]

This is how I experienced Van Aert's Paris-Roubaix:

• 140 km to go: Well, he's had a flat tire already. Bad luck as usual.
• 130 km: He's better positioned now than 10 km ago.
• 80 km: He's never been in a better position, but Pogacar or Pedersen can beat him.
• 40 km: This could be the chance of a lifetime, but a lot can still go wrong.
• 15 km: He's now objectively the favorite. This could be his greatest win, or another disillusion.
• 1 km: The most important km of his career. Don't screw this up, Wout!
• 200 m: Go, now, don't hesitate!
• 0 m: Hallelujah!
• This morning: I just had one of those naïve wishing dreams again. Let me check the actual result...

 

[dercuforever]

Thanks you Wout.
You do have it.
You gave everything to win. And you did.
Probably his last chance to do it, unless his form goes Valverde style.

 

[Berniece]

Wout is belgian so the biggest cycling nation is wirh him. For example, italians seem to like Pogacar a lot, mroe than Wout.

Casual fans maybe, but people invested in cycling, I'm not sure

https://twitter.com/x/status/2043365264960446554

 

[Red Rick]

The Tdf winner usually is.

Not necessarily.

Sagan was the most popular in his day, and Froome was arguably never top 3 in popularity. Vingegaard wasn't either.

 

[BahamontesPhantom]

Not necessarily.

Sagan was the most popular in his day, and Froome was arguably never top 3 in popularity. Vingegaard wasn't either.

Because Froome and Vingegaard are skeletor robots with little charisma. Nobody outside of cycling or athletics cares about characters like that. Many countries a lot people actively dislike road cyclists ‘Lycra idiots’ etc.
Sagan at least had some charisma and seen to be having some fun and had mountain bike crossover

 

[SafeBet]

Can't get out of my head the chants I've heard over the years at the races

Woutje Van Aert
Woutje Van Aert
WOUTJE WOUTJE WOUTJE VAN AERT

 

[Berniece]

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

 

[noob]

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

My partner just now;

"Watching video of Van Aert victory. Everyone is cheering"

"He's just crying "

 

[stoempestoempestoempe]

I was surprised to see how composed he was yesterday during the whole race. Being in front at the right times, attacking at the right time, pulling at the right times, not pulling at the right times and starting his sprint at the right time. An unexpected tactical masterclass.

* Being in front on all cubble stones sections from the first section.
* Staying cool after the first flat tire and waiting for the car to change bikes and using Doull to get back to the group.
* Taking the lead at Wallers-Arenberg where he lost the race last year due to bad positioning.
* Staying cool after the second flat tire and using both Red Bull riders to come back instead of chasing like a mad man.
* Attacking just before the crucial Auchy-les-Orchies section and just before MVDP¨could finalise his comeback.
* Not giving everything on Auchy-les-Orchies once he knew Pogacar and Pedersen where in his wheel so he still could answer Pogacar's counter-attack.
* Taking the lead again on Auchy-les-Orchies again to eliminate Pedersen who could have beaten him in the sprint.
* Staying in Pogacar's wheel from the beginning of section 5 Camphin-en-Pévèle until the end of section 3 Gruson.
* Staying in Pogacar's wheel the last 2K and starting the sprint at the right time.