"I still want to end a bad season on a good note" - Wout van Aert adds more races to packed season finale

The Coppa Bernocchi and Gran Piemonte have been added to Wout van Aert's calendar. After showing off great form at the Tour of Britain where he's won the overall classification, the Belgian is thinking of turning his season around when it comes to victories and will be racing for a few more races now in September and October.

“The coming weeks will be busy. I still ride the Super 8 Classic, the time trial and road trial at the European Championships, Coppa Bernocchi, Gran Piemonte and the Gravel World Championships," van Aert told Het Laatste Nieuws. "I still want to end a bad season on a good note.”

Despite having been very consistent and strong throughout the year, van Aert could not take the win at the Tour of Flanders, and then at Paris-Roubaix punctured when attacking close to the finale. Following that was the Tour de Suisse and the Tour de France where he chased a stage win but unsuccessfully, followed by the World Championships where he once again finished second to Mathieu van der Poel - has had been the case in the cyclocross event back in February.

All in all a good season, but lacking the big wins he had hoped for. At the Tour of Britain he helped Olav Kooij to four bunch sprint victories but had a taste of winning himself on stage 5, and eventually conquering the GC. The European road championships are a clear goal, and so will the Gravel worlds following. So as to have a few more opportunities and keep the racing rhythm inbetween, the Jumbo-Visma rider has added a couple of races in Italy where he could be in the lead.