"I hope we can put our stamp on the competition again" - Will 2025 finally be the year for Wout van Aert in the monuments?

The cycling season properly gets underway this weekend with the Opening Weekend. Wout van Aert starts his campaign for classics and monument glory on Saturday at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, before taking on Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne on Sunday.

Speaking to Wielerflits, he spoke about his classics form.

“I think I already mentioned in Volta ao Algarve that we want to wait and see next weekend. I have mainly taken it easy the last few days. I have had tough weeks before Algarve and then another tough racing week. I have let the rest do its work. We will see how it goes on Saturday and Sunday. Then we will evaluate.”

"Of course I still have high expectations. We have been successful with our team on Opening Weekend many times. It is always a first moment to look forward to. I hope we can put our stamp on the competition again. I am looking forward to it."

But can he be satisfied if he doesn’t win? Van Aert is targeting glory at either the Tour of Flanders or Paris-Roubaix, as he has not won a monument since Milano-Sanremo in 2020.

“Yes, that is possible. But of course the ambition is to win. We have a number of spearheads for that. But even more than that victory, it is important that we make a good start as a team. That we can roll out our tactics. I think that is more important than the result itself. But of course it is true that you ride classics like the Omloop and Kuurne to win.”

“I think there is a bigger focus on us in terms of bad luck, after last year. There are a number of setbacks that we would rather not have seen. But I think that in every team someone gets sick or there is a crash. It is very important not to focus on that too much and that we look at the progress that we are all making. We are on the right track."