"For the first 15 days, we’ll see Wout van Aert in pink" - Eurosport expert goes big in his Giro d'Italia predictions

There are many riders set to make their Giro d'Italia debuts when the Grand Tour kicks off later this week. It's fair to say that few have been as highly-anticipated as the debut of Team Visma | Lease a Bike superstar Wout van Aert. Many experts are expecting big things of the Belgian over the coming weeks, with a potentially lengthy stay in the Maglia Rosa on the cards.

On the latest episode of Eurosport's Kop Over Kop podcast, experts Jeroen Vanbelleghem, Bobbie Traksel, and Jan Hermsen analysed the Giro expectations of Van Aert. “Jan and Jeroen predicted Wout van Aert would win this Giro, or at the very least wear pink. They thought he could stay in the maglia rosa for fifteen stages. Now that we’ve seen his spring season, what do we think?” the question is asked by presenter Sander Valentijn, with Vanbelleghem doubling down on his high expectations of the Visma star. 

“Is it such a wild prediction? Maybe. But I still say Van Aert will wear pink after fifteen stages," answers Vanbelleghem forcefully. "He’ll lose the jersey on the San Valentino stage - Stage 16 - but for the first fifteen days, we’ll see Wout in pink.”

Even the fact that Van Aert went through the whole Spring without adding a win to his palmares won't dissuade Vanbelleghem that this Giro is going to be a great success for the Belgian. “He finished fourth three times and second twice - why be negative about his Giro chances?" the analyst counters. "He’s always been stronger in Grand Tours than in one-day races. He recovers incredibly well and is a machine in stage races. I expect a brilliant Van Aert over these three weeks - one who will move us emotionally in the final stages.”

“He’s definitely not going to win, but there are still opportunities for him to take the pink jersey,” Traksel adds, although he does see a potential stumbling block to these ambitions in the form of Van Aert's own teammate, Olav Kooij. “If Van Aert ends up leading out Kooij in the sprints, he’ll miss out on bonus seconds. That would significantly reduce his chances of keeping the pink jersey through to Stage 15. It also means the team will have to take on the workload of controlling the race. Kooij is the top sprinter in the field, but supporting him will cost Van Aert a lot of time and energy, making it harder to hold onto pink.”

“You say Van Aert is always strong in Grand Tours - but that’s usually the one in June," Hermsen adds. "Racing in May might be a different story. I’ve never seen him perform well in a race this early in the season. So that’s still a bit of a question mark.”

Again though, Vanbelleghem isn't to be swayed from his confidence. “I think he’ll be more of a Van der Poel for Philipsen-type figure - leading out Kooij only in the final meters," he concludes. "We know Van Aert is a team player, but that doesn’t have to be a disadvantage. He wouldn’t have picked up bonuses in those flat stages anyway - they were always going to be for Kooij.”