"He must pretend that he cannot sprint" - Wout Van Aert might have to change tactics in order to dream of rainbow jersey in Montréal
CyclingTuesday, 15 September 2026 at 06:00
The World Championships begin already this Sunday, and the men's elite road race in Montréal takes place in the space of 12 days. At this point in time, most riders have done all their racing or training ahead of the 'big one', and amongst the favourites are Belgian duo Remco Evenepoel - whom Rúben Silva and Gavin Quinn commented on the newest episode of the CyclingUpToDate.
Van Aert left the Vuelta a España with a strong tally, having won two stages, conquered the points classification, and aided both Matthew Brennan and Sepp Kuss extensively in their own individual ambitions.
"He worked so well for for Mathieu Brennan. If Mathieu Brennan wasn't there we would have seen him chase a couple more stages, and I think I've no doubt that there would be more than two stages that he won," Gavin Quinn said of the Belgian.
"And he showed that climbing legs, like we saw on stage 19 and 20 that he was he was chasing KOM points. He was kind of just stretching the legs a little bit and even on stage 21 yesterday, he was in the front group [...] But when it came to the final climb he didn't quite have the gas".
The Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider, after having to leave the Tour de France aside, showed a very high level during La Vuelta. He used racing to prepare for the worlds instead of a large training block like most favourites - but that risk may pay off.
"He's bounced back and he's kind of found himself as a rider again. There were moments where we thought his sprint was maybe not what it used to be and he's since proven us wrong on that, he's won bunch sprints.
"He's just kind of like Enric Mas reached that stage of his career where the disappointments build to the point where you become almost fearless or almost assured in what you can do and what you bring to the table as a rider, and I don't think anything is going to set him back in that way. But yeah he has to be one of the he has to be one of the world championships contenders".
Van Aert will be flying to Canada where he will be a co-leader for the Belgian team alongside Remco Evenepoel. The two have a different set of abilities, and can complement themselves in the Canadian race.
"Not only because he's part of a strong team but Remco Evenepoel on his team is also a potential advantage. We've seen two of them together maybe in 2021 worlds, we saw Remco Evenepoel for example going ahead and using that to bring the race to Van Aert. And it could be the other way around this time."
"We could see Van Aert having the privilege of being able to attack the race knowing that Remco's behind, so it's it's a good thing that he's not the sole focus of this Belgian team for for world championships".
An agressive Van Aert?
Rúben Silva on the other hand argues that Van Aert must, above all, race aggressively - as he has of late - and not focus on a potential sprint finish. "Van Aert is a rider that you would expect to just wait and see if it comes back to a sprint".
"But just think back at Van Aert's racing over the past few years. That's not what he's been doing, no, he's learned and Van Aert specifically has learned 'don't wait for the final sprint'. If anyone knows that it's Van Aert because we've seen that go wrong on several races".
The loss of stages or races in a reduced group sprint became a problem for the Belgian, and in 2022 he was beaten by Tadej Pogacar in the final sprint of the GP de Montréal, showcasing effectively the potential risk of waiting for a sprint.
"If Seixas, if Del Toro attack those climbs time and time again I don't think he can follow, but he has to make moves early and he has to do what he's been doing over the past few years: He must pretend that he cannot sprint, or he must show others that he's like 'no I'm not waiting for a sprint, I don't care about the sprint'".
"He has to attack early and then just hope that the pieces fit together and it comes down to him, because even if it's in a sprint... We've seen the Montreal sprint that's a five six percent sprint. You put him face to face with the Del Toro, with a Seixas, no you absolutely do not have a guarantee of winning".
Wout Van Aert won two stages at the recent Vuelta a España
Remco Evenepoel, no longer the main favourite
A race with 273 kilometers in length, no race radios and team dynamics that differ from the average trade team race means that unusual tactics may be at play during the 27th of September's race.
Chaos can benefit outsiders, whilst the main favourites must in some way assure that they do not get anticipated. Remco Evenepoel is a specialist in long solo moves, but at the GP de Montréal the Olympic Champion wasn't at his best.
Whilst the fifth place at the finish line may not display a sense of urgency, the Belgian was dropped on two occasions by Paul Seixas and Isaac del Toro on the climb to Mount Royal, rather comfortably.
This was in stark contrast to a GP de Québec, in which he not only won the race, but did so convincingly whilst staying ahead of the main group of favourites. "He'll certainly hope that it's the first one the Quebec one that shows up," Quinn argues.
In his opinion, Evenepoel has the legs to match the other two top climbers, but this depends on him racing at his regular level and without mishaps. A particular moment, in which Evenepoel was seen heavily shouting and gesturing at a Lidl-Trek rider, might have been his downfall at this Sunday's race.
"Remco is slightly impeded. I wouldn't even say boxed in fully, but Remco slaps the handlebars, looks back throws the arm up all the while you see the Isaac del Toro, Seixas, all of those are gone and going".
"So it's a moment where Remco let the occasion or the the moments go to his head, where if he just continued riding I think there's a there's a solid 90% chance he would have stayed with that group".
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The incident brought back memories of the 2025 Worlds, in which Evenepoel was caught behind with a badly-timed mechanical after Mont Kigali, in which he lost a lot of time and was visibly outraged by the situation.
The argument is that if he lets his emotions take over, another difficult moment might follow, whilst in regular circumstances he might have had the legs to win the race. "Then he spent his bullet to make it across and had nothing left to um to attack on the final climb".
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- God, Pog is washed. Can't even finish a race now. Where will his glory supporters go next?wrsty15-09-2026
- so much for Visma going down the drain, permanent second or 3rd class citizen, talent drain, everyone is fleeing the team. they suck. etc etc.mij15-09-2026
- We will see.Speedy recovery for Urska too.
Brucegel14-09-2026 - You could have written this without spiteful tone, but I guess you're confident you'll get upvotes.Hills3314-09-2026
- If he had a repeat concussion he would probably have to retire in a much worse state. (And his fiancee has just had a repeat of her bad fall of a few months ago, showing a repeat is not unlikely.) Maybe best if he retired now, rather than taking his chances.Hills3314-09-2026
- Not many folks can put Pogi under pressure. But when it does happen i agree there is a bit of a pattern of risk-taking and crashes. For example he got lucky with his Strade Bianche crash - that could have cost him the race or more.mobk14-09-2026
- I don’t think the problem is maths so much as proofreading, he may have wanted to say Tour & Vuelta, would seem a little more logical though, in a text not actually based on logic I gyess there’s no point in supposing anything.Mistermaumau14-09-2026
- Oh really, he told you so I guess? The only reason he didn’t crash before is because Mas warned him to slow down and even then he couldn’t resist trying it on, or does it hurt his sensitive ego a little more than he likes to show to be overtaken? Even at a ripe cycling age, he still hasn’t learnt to take note of dangers. Had it not been a countryman warning him not to compete downhill in MSR there’d be a a good possibility his career would have been shortened. He’s the LAST person that needs to take senseless risks and yet, almost every time someone is pressuring him he starts to, his own worst enemy.Mistermaumau14-09-2026
- Yup dude! It is going to be hard for you, but you are going to have to come to terms with this. Pog did not win.this race. Pog did not even finish this race.. Shoulda, coulda, woulda won gets you zero UCI points even if you are by far the best rider.mobk14-09-2026
- My sources tell me that it is useful to be aware of the race situation rather than just waiting for chasers to catch up. Just saying. Perhaps Pog was getting a bit complacent and assuming no one would catch up.mobk14-09-2026
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