American ex-pro counters heavy criticism of Wout van Aert's sprinting ability: "The same Wout that won on Champs-Élysées lost a sprint to Pidcock"
CyclingWednesday, 23 April 2025 at 09:39
For a third Sunday in a row, a fourth place was awaiting Wout van Aert at the finish line of Amstel Gold Race. But compared to previous races, this results comes with a massive confidence boost. That's because Visma | Lease a Bike rider finally won a sprint this spring.
Former American professional Tom Danielson also saw a strong Van Aert. He also reflects on the Brabantse Pijl, where he parries the criticism directed at the Belgian for losing a sprint to Remco Evenepoel. "I was caught off guard today by how much negative chatter followed Wout Van Aert’s excellent performance in Brabantse Pijl," he says in his lengthy analysis on X.
"Are many seeing what I’m seeing? Apparently not. So I took a few minutes this afternoon to share my thoughts on his comeback performances - and how they might be pointing to bigger-picture goals that most people are missing."
Critics think back to the 30-year-old Belgian's sprint victories in the Tour de France. In 2021, he won sprint against some of the world's fastest men on the Champs-Élysées. But the American former rider highlights an important fact from that same season.
"Ironically, '2021 Champs-Élysées-winning Wout' lost Brabantse Pijl in a sprint to 128-pound Tom Pidcock. Yes, that’s right—the same guy who, in the same year, won the field sprint on the Champs-Élysées got beaten by a rookie pro climber in a sprint."
"This year? Wout lost the sprint to Olympic champion Remco… after both of them dropped Pidcock on a climb earlier. That sounds like an improvement over 2021 to me." That's why Danielson thinks Van Aert will be just fine for the rest of his season. After Giro, he will also be at the start of Tour de France, where Danielson expects to see the old Van Aert back. "Was he exceptional in the Tour de France in 2021? Absolutely. I would expect something similar in 2025."
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- Hey, Wout is one of the least excuse seeking riders out there, read the article again and let’s wait and see over the 3 weeks. Also a bad sign if you’re willing to give up on him faster than himself.Mistermaumau09-05-2025
- No more than Primoz at the TdFMistermaumau09-05-2025
- Sorry but Iagree more with the article at this point of the season. Had Mads not had a perfect lead-out it would have been a done deal already.Mistermaumau09-05-2025
- Certainties in life: Jay Vine crashing, Wout second, death and taxes.
maria2024202409-05-2025 - It’s really a bad sign with a competitor is supposed to be happy with moral victories. Or when 2nd place is a positive sign to be happy about. Or “I’ve been ill”. I know he’s coming back from a lot of injuries. At some point the excuses need to end and “W’s” startmij09-05-2025
- Dude has a record of crashing every Giroabstractengineer09-05-2025
- That was an unfortunate crash by Mikel Landa. Hopefully he's not seriously injured, and can recover in time to help out Remco at the TDF.
santiagobenites09-05-2025 - Yep, and considering neither is really built for climbing, it speaks volumes. Only name I can see who has a climbers build is KN. An observation maybe someone will find interesting or have more info on, compared to men, the strong lady climbers are heavier, often the equivalent of their male versions for same height. Is it because the girls try to build muscle to climb better or the boys try to lose weight for that or both, seems paradoxical.Mistermaumau09-05-2025
- His injury problems were known to his past team who still tried to re-sign him, who’s fault, especially if the medical team fails to resolve problems? Not sure it’s offered or possible but teams are free to consider insurance or contract clauses in order to mitigate financial risks.Mistermaumau09-05-2025
- Lafay is the classic example of you get a great TDF stage win, get a lucrative contract and then you dont perform ever again, due to partying or injuries.abstractengineer09-05-2025
Huge loss for Jonas if he can't get his form by July
I don’t think that, even at his current level he’s going to be a better domestique than almost any other. Paradoxically, he may even turn out to be more useful if not in top form because then he might not waste as much team energy on personal goals.
too much criticism... calm down, leave Wout alone. I hope Wout doesn't read all that sh**
No, he has someone who does that for him and selects interesting relevant stuff, and I doubt ANY of the stuff here makes the grade :-)
What has Danielson ever won?
No idea, in what way is that relevant?
Haters gonna hate - that said, it seems unrealistic to believe that Wout has not been permanently impacted by his injuries last year, esp in the Vuelta