"I also needed to throw myself back in and enjoy it” – Wout van Aert believes he is on the right track
Cycling
By his own high standards, Wout van Aert has had a difficult
beginning to his 2025 road campaign. The 30-year-old struggled in his season
opener at the Clásica Jaén a week ago but showed progress at the Volta ao
Algarve, where his Team Visma | Lease a Bike teammate Jonas Vingegaard took the
overall victory.
Van Aert delivered a stronger performance in Portugal,
finishing second in the final day’s time trial and securing seventh place on
both Stage 3 and Stage 4. Reflecting on his progress, he told Net Nieuwsblad, "I
felt myself getting better day by day here in Portugal."
Van Aert explained that racing, rather than just training,
has been key to unlocking improvements in his form. The Belgian endured a stop-start
2024, riddled with injuries that prevented us from seeing him at his brilliant
best.
"We were also looking for that extra percentage that I
could get by racing instead of training and I think we succeeded."
Comparing his struggles in Jaén to his improved condition in
the Algarve, he acknowledged the stark contrast between the two performances.
"I really feel the difference with the Clásica Jaén
last Monday. I would almost say: a world of difference. The first race is
sometimes a shock to the system and in Jaén that was certainly the case with
the gravel. Let me ride the Tour of the Algarve first and Jaén two days later
and you would have had a much more realistic picture of how good I was. I am
convinced that I have made a step forward."
Van Aert recognised that his sprint is most effective in
tougher race conditions, which didn’t quite materialise at the Volta ao
Algarve.
"I know that my sprint is much more effective in
tougher races. Saturday was therefore my best chance on paper, but both the
course and the race conditions were easier than I had expected."
Competing against pure sprinters, he acknowledged the
difficulties of matching their speed.
"If I have to sprint against men like Meeus, De Lie,
Fretin or Dainese, it must have been either very tough or everything must go
well. I don't have the top speed of those pure sprinters."
Van Aert also reflected on his return to racing on the road following
his crash at the Vuelta a España last year, which ended his race whilst he let
both the sprint and mountains classifications.
"I also needed to throw myself back in and enjoy
it."
Fin MajorCycling Journalist
Fin Major is a UK-based writer at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2024. He is the site’s main writer for FAQs and evergreen explainers and has written around 2,000 pieces for the platform. Alongside this work, he focuses on in-depth analysis and covers the biggest races on the calendar, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, providing clear context around performance trends, tactics, and key storylines.
In his reporting, Fin uses reputable data sources such as ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available. Outside of writing, Fin is an active cyclist, which supports his practical understanding of the sport and its demands.
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- I get the point totally. We live in the snowflake society where some riders forget they are getting paid to ride and get results. When they have a few issues they try to look outside of the real issue instead of themselves. It odd so many of the team are making no complaints and getting on with their job. If you do not like what you do find another job simples. Tough love as my mum would say.paultryan200207-11-2026
- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
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