Wout van Aert

[Cycle Chic]

at least Daniel Friebe - sounded like him - had the balls to ask him 'so in the sprint yesterday, and now winning Ventoux..how do you do that ? ' Wout looked extremely uncomfortable and couldnt think of a reply - his protruding brow twitched and his lantern jaw ached a bit after that question - bwahaaaaaa

 

[gillan1969]

This is exactly the link I made. I like WvA, but I also recognize that this performance is suspicious for sure...he was in a trance, knew just how hard he could ride, and never looked close to blowing up...and he was shredding the climb...but yeah, no different from GT/Hincapie winning mountain stages...

point taken but slightly different...he's better than them....

 

[the delgados]

Only difference being is George didn't win the queen stage the day after finishing second on a sprint stage. Impressive indeed!

 

[ChewbaccaDefense]

point taken but slightly different...he's better than them....

I agree, much more talendted rider than either.

 

[Ripper]

I think they should just call it a day now. This Tour is officially a farce.

Are you kidding? This is the feelz-good tour of the century! The perfect post-pandemic cure for the blues. Every day is a new story of incredible performance and heartwarming triumph

 

[Ripper]

Wout doing an Eros Poli is pretty jaw-dropping, sure, but after seeing Geraint freaking Thomas win back to back mountain stages en route to a maillot jaune, he's got a long way to go yet.

Yup

 

[nayr497]

^Reading about Geraint winner the TdF kinda reminded me...Geraint Thomas won the Tour de France! I think my brain immediately blocked it out when it happened, since it's not feasible. At all.

 

[therealthing]

A time trial, a sprint, and a mountain stage.

Get the f**k out of here

 

[F_Cance]

It really is a joke, but sadly he is one of the riders least talked about.

 

[Red Rick]

It really is a joke, but sadly he is one of the riders least talked about.

Pretty sure everyone agrees he's the most hilarious rider in Jumbo Visma

 

[saganftw]

 

[SafeBet]

Pretty sure everyone agrees he's the most hilarious rider in Jumbo Visma

I think the most hilarious is Steven Kruijswijk who went from fringe GT podium contender to pack fodder in the span of 2 years while most of his teammates look like UFOs.

 

[zapata]

This is stupid.

 

[AICA ribonucleotide]

He will do the Time Trial and Road Race double at the Olympics.

 

[BlueRoads]

It really is a joke, but sadly he is one of the riders least talked about.

Because he's nice. Because he obviously has so much talent. Because he also has the skills.

But yes, totally unbelievable, unfortunately, unless you also think the mermaid stories are true.

 

[Red Rick]

I think the most hilarious is Steven Kruijswijk who went from fringe GT podium contender to pack fodder in the span of 2 years while most of his teammates look like UFOs.

The one thing he has going for him is he's from Belgium, so the Dutch and Belgian fanbases will largely not even remotely consider he ain't clean.

 

[F_Cance]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1416810823771623427

View: https://twitter.com/CafeRoubaix/status/1416810823771623427


should speak for itself

 

[Breh]

Disgusting.
I think what bothers me the most is the lack of a single critical voice in the Belgian press. It's all normal.

 

[keeponrollin]

Disgusting.
I think what bothers me the most is the lack of a single critical voice in the Belgian press. It's all normal.

Home Media is usually the last place you'll find anyone publicly raising an eyebrow.

I remember how the Irish Media, initially played the jealousy card, when American media voiced fellow swimmers questions about Michelle Smith; & her performances were every bit as Alien as WvA.

If Ireland didn't have the likes of Kimmage; we'd probably still be hearing the same lines from the Media.

 

[topcat]

I didn't watch today cause I couldn't take anymore. Queen stage, itt and the most iconic sprint stage. Next year gc? Lol

 

[Panda Claws]

Jumbo-Visma as a whole definitely seems up there among the radiation pantheon. Although I still enjoy cyclists like him and van der Poel a lot because while probably doped I think they would still be all-rounders without the dope. Just at a lesser level. In my opinion that gives you a glimpse of what a cyclist like Merckx, De Vlaeminck, Kelly, (perhaps even Valverde had GT's not been the end-all be-all in Spain) could have done in modern times.
But to be clear, I have no doubts WvA is doped and I think the way he answers questions regarding 'speed in the peloton etc' are very telling.

As an example I remember him being asked about how De Gendt and Van Avermaet (among others) had said that the level of the TDF was higher than it used to be. And Van Aert replied that it was only normal that the level was high because this was the main goal of the season for many of the riders and a lot of them had been on altitude stage prior.
To me that just screams deliberately mis-interpreting the question. As if the TDF was not a main goal in previous years.
Though I do think that people like De Gendt and Van Avermaet need to start asking themselves whether they think it is normal for them to still be 'hitting their best values ever' at their age. That's ridiculous if that is true. Then you did something wrong while you were in your prime or are doing a lot more things 'right' now that you are older.

Has Jumbo-Visma been linked to especially shady doctors yet or is this all 'next generation'?

I will say that I think part of the reason why the Belgian fanbase is not as vocally critical is because most of them are not new to cycling. They agree that most if not all top riders are doped to some degree. When you get top riders emerging from countries with less cycling history however (USA, UK, Slovenia, ... ) you get a load of people who still actively try to insist that their riders are clean. But in Belgium it's mostly regarded as 'business as usual'.
When nobody is here to really defend WvA then there is just less to talk about I think.

But chauvinism DOES play a part I am not denying that alltogether. Pogacar definitely gets a lot more flack than WvA does. But then again, it's not like other threads in the Clinic are boosted up by Belgian fans alone. Perhaps most neutral fans find it easier to stomach dominant riders when they come from traditional cycling countries like Italy and Belgium.

Edit: I did not bother reading the entire thread though so perhaps there are a load of screaming Belgians insisting that Wout Van Aert does not even know what doping means.

Edit two: Now that I think of it, admitting that your rider dopes but insisting that they are obviously a crazy talent nonetheless may simply be the 'weathered cycling fan version' of saying your guy doesn't dope. But it's not as egregious because at least then you can't easily attack another rider you don't like by saying that that one does dope.

 

[Cagalitroso]

Guess it's time for his own thread.

Top 5 classics rider? Check
Top 5 time trialler? Check
Top 20 sprinter? Check
Top 20 climber at the Tour? Check

10 months ago were simpler, more naive times. Our boy Wout is now top 2/3 in all those categories.

 

[burning]

I am not going to deny that he is going full throttle, but I think it is quite obvious that this guy is a massive and unique talent. Even the most obvious dopers in the last 30-40 years have not came close to his versatility.

 

[Ripper]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1416810823771623427

View: https://twitter.com/CafeRoubaix/status/1416810823771623427


should speak for itself

Indeed! Pretty much checked off all the boxes for stage wins this year, Queen mountain stage, TT, the biggest deal sprint. Lolz

.

 

[Hugh Januss]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1416810823771623427

View: https://twitter.com/CafeRoubaix/status/1416810823771623427


should speak for itself

Except that Hinault also won the GC. Compared to Pogacar Van Aert had almost an hour of active rest during the 21 stages. That's got to preserve some snap.