"He races so infrequently" - Wout van Aert needs to be racing Gent Wevelgem insists Greg van Avermaet

Wout van Aert's road season hasn't really kicked into gear yet in 2025. The Team Visma | Lease a Bike superstar has enjoyed a relatively quiet campaign so far, but according to Olympic gold medallist Greg van Avermaet, his compatriot's simply not racing enough to build up form.

Every rider will naturally take a slightly different approach to their calendar in order to arrive at their selected races best prepared. For Van Aert so far in 2025, that has meant multiple training camps. As mentioned though, according to Van Avermaet, a change is needed, with this Sunday afternoon's battle at Gent Wevelgem a perfect example of somewhere Van Aert should be on the road, building race-sharpness.

“Racing here certainly wouldn’t have been a disadvantage,” Van Avermaet tells Sporza from the startline of the Belgian classic. “Does he skip it to add an extra endurance training session? That depends on what his coach thinks and how Wout feels. But since he races so infrequently, I would have added this race to his schedule. Though, that’s just my personal feeling. They must have made the decision based on his own feelings and the data, determining what’s best for him.”

After finishes of 11th and 75th on Opening Weekend, Van Aert could only muster a top-15 last time out at the E3 Saxo Classic. Van Avermaet isn't alone in thinking the Visma star should be present at Gent Wevelgem either. “There are periods of training and racing. In today’s cycling world, riders often prioritize training over races like Paris-Nice or Tirreno-Adriatico. This should actually be a racing period where you take on major races like Gent-Wevelgem," agrees Sep Vanmarcke. “This race suits him perfectly as a former winner. Harelbeke didn’t go as he had hoped. Here, he would want to sharpen things up, prove himself, and build confidence. It was a perfect opportunity.”

"Friday wasn’t actually that bad. There were positive signs that we didn’t see on camera," Van Avermaet adds. “There are signals that his form is good. He’s definitely not in bad shape, but the question is whether he can close that gap this week. If I were Wout, I wouldn’t panic and I would believe in myself. Is that easier said than done? Yes, but there’s not much more you can do about it. You can’t expect miracles, and you just have to hope for supercompensation. Wednesday’s Dwars door Vlaanderen could give him that extra bit of confidence.”