"He's the best after Pogacar and Van der Poel" - Olympic runner-up laughs off criticism of Wout van Aert

Valentin Madouas surprised the world at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games when he finished second and took the silver medal for France. He was the last to stay on Remco Evenepoel's wheel and shone in his home race. Currently racing the Tour de Suisse, he spoke out in a recent talk about the excessive criticism of Wout van Aert.

In a conversation for the YouTube channel "En Danseuse", the Groupama - FDJ rider had this to say: "Even if your name is Wout van Aert, there comes a point where, after finishing second or third time and again, you ask yourself: 'What else can I do to win?' Sometimes you just have to wait for your moment, but in the meantime, a thousand thoughts come to you and the criticism doesn't stop. You hear a lot of negative comments, and like that it's not easy to raise your head."

Van Aert has a reputation as an underdog, he has had the misfortune of being in the same era as Tadej Pogacar and Mathieu van der Poel, but the reality is that he is one of the best riders of his generation: "He is a true champion. If you look at his consistency? A lot of people say that his season has been weak, but for me it's impressive. It's true that he hasn't won any classics, but he's always in the top five."

Finally, he compared him to the other great cyclists of the moment, including 2019 world champion Mads Pedersen in the conversation: "I would say he's probably the third best cyclist in the world, only behind Pogacar and Van der Poel. He's in the same league as Pedersen. I'm amused by some of the criticism. Just look at all he sacrifices, the effort he's made to recover from injury. That guy is elite, no doubt about it."