"I already have a good level, but not yet the level I had hoped for" - Wout van Aert ahead of Tirreno-Adriatico

Wout van Aert has had a very busy winter and start to the spring. His racing debut on the road in 2023 comes now at Tirreno-Adriatico where he looks to build up his best form towards the classics.

“When I arrived in Tenerife I didn't feel completely healthy. I've been on the bike twice, but I don't think those rides had any training effect, because the disease was already in my body," he told reporters at a press conference before the Italian race began. "After two days I got up sick and stayed off the bike for another two days. The cold wasn't the biggest problem. But with all the rest we were suddenly two weeks after the cyclocross World Championships before I could really pick up the training again. That's why I needed more build-up.”

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His absence from Strade Bianche was a decision based on his biggest goals. The Tour des Flandres and Paris-Roubaix are the two races where he intends on winning this spring, and he's willing to sacrifice other minor goals. At Tirreno-Adriatico he won't try to fight for the overall classification, but instead build on his form and test his legs on some of the stages.

“I already have a good level, but not yet the level I had hoped for. In this Tirreno I will mainly work to get my form up for the big goals in April," he explains. "If I compare this Tirreno with that of 2021, this is a race that is less suited to riders like Mathieu and me. There are now more opportunities for bunch sprints. At the time, it was mainly tough, tricky finals, where the finish line was often drawn in a village on top of a mountain.”

Jumbo-Visma has dominated the early cobbled classics of the spring at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne. He will only link up with the block in late March, but he's already teaming up with Dylan van Baarle and Tiesj Benoot this week. He talks of the team's goals for the week, a team that is incredibly well rounded.

“We all have different goals. Tiesj Benoot and Wilco Kelderman have had their sights set on this race for a long time and want to ride a general classification," he explains. "Primož Roglič is a question mark even for us, while Dylan van Baarle and I are mainly here to prepare for the classics period.”

Van Aert will have some opportunities to battle for stage wins, the opening time-trial being one of them. He will have a free role certainly, as Jumbo-Visma are likely to give most of it's riders in the Italian race - whilst Jonas Vingegaard leads the Dutch team's aspirations at Paris-Nice.

Van Aert was joined by several other figures in the press conference including Mathieu van der Poel and Julian Alaphilippe. After the Frenchman said that van Aert can win anywhere the Jumbo-Visma rider joked: " "That's true, I can win anywhere."