"I wouldn't want to swap places with him" - Tiesj Benoot reveals the intensity of Wout van Aert's fame and popularity

There aren't many bigger stars in Belgian sport than Wout van Aert. The multi-discipline star has been one of the faces of the sport of cycling for around a decade and as such, has become one of the most recognisable sportsmen in his homeland. As detailed by Van Aert's Team Visma | Lease a Bike teammate Tiesj Benoot though, that notoriety isn't always a positive thing.

One thing that was attempted to gain some freedom away from the intensity of the Belgian pressure, was more training camps abroad. Even this had problems for Van Aert though. "Tenerife is also full of Belgians, haha. He transcends cycling in that respect," Benoot explains with a laugh on the podcast Stamcafé Koers. "I think it's great how he deals with that. He's always friendly. Only during dinner he doesn't want to be disturbed and he also says that he's not doing something."

"Not disturbing during meals is also the minimum respect you can expect from people. When we go to a coffee bar, we always go to the quietest one," Benoot continues, noting just how intense doing normal, daily activities can be for Van Aert because of his fame and popularity. "I don't think he goes to the store in Belgium either. You can do it, but you know that you'll lose an extra hour. It's a sad reality, because I wouldn't want to swap places with him in that respect."

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Benoot himself of course, also gets recognised on occasions by cycling-mad Belgian fans. For the 31-year-old though, it's not nearly as bad as Van Aert. "For me it is not too bad, but with those top performers I often see the audience react with: it is only one autograph, one photo or one video that you have to record. But no, that happens thousands of times for those guys," Benoot explains. 

Another one of his compatriots that Benoot sees these issues, is Remco Evenepoel. "The process that Remco went through... This is an even different zeitgeist with all the social media and the madness around him is much bigger than around me then," comments Benoot on the double Olympic gold medallist. "I find it admirable to see how he deals with it, because I know a lot of people who would go under because of it."

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