18/06/2024

"Hope that he will not have to pull himself apart for Jonas Vingegaard" - Jose De Cauwer worried Wout van Aert will again sacrifice himself at 2024 Tour de France

According to the latest rumours and speculation coming from Team Visma | Lease a Bike's pre-Tour de France altitude training camp, both Wout van Aert and Jonas Vingegaard will be present at the Grand Depart in Florence later this month.

Although van Aert has been posting very positive signs with long, impressive rides to his official Strava account in recent weeks, with the Olympic Games and the World Championships following the Tour de France this summer however, whether a ride around France is the best preparation for van Aert, remains a big talking point amongst the Belgian cycling experts.

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"I read between the lines that he will be fine to ride the Tour. Then we have to wait and see what exactly he will do there," Sporza commentator Jose De Cauwer previews of van Aert's upcoming schedule via the Flemish Radio 1. "Will he go for green or will he only go for stages? That way he can do the Tour as preparation use it for the Olympic Games, which should become the new most important goal. I especially hope that he will not have to pull himself apart for Jonas Vingegaard and forget himself in that way."

At the 2023 Tour de France, there was notable discontent within Belgium about the way van Aert was used by Team Visma | Lease a Bike (then named Jumbo-Visma ed.). Unlike in previous years, where van Aert balanced his work for a GC leader with stage wins and a Green Jersey, the Belgian was not allowed those same luxuries last year.

With Vingegaard himself having been battling hard to recover from serious injury earlier in the year, whether or not the Dane will be in Maillot Jaune challenging condition remains to be seen. Could you imagine a situation where Vingegaard and van Aert race the Tour de France in a purely stage hunting capacity, with both superstars getting themselves into the breakaway of a mountain stage in the third week? It's not totally out of the question.