“If he were the sole leader, he could win the first ten stages" - Belgian press urges Visma to let Wout van Aert loose at 2025 Tour de France
CyclingFriday, 04 July 2025 at 09:39
Already in 2025, Wout van Aert has managed to play a decisive factor in his teammate's Grand Tour win, helping to pull Simon Yates to a Giro d'Italia victory back in June. How the Belgian will take on the 2025 Tour de France however, remains a little bit of a question.
In the past, Van Aert has managed to combine the hunt for the Green Jersey and stage wins with some stellar support of Jonas Vingegaard's Maillot Jaune challenge, most notably at the 2022 edition, when the Belgian was arguably the most impressive performer in the race. In the years since however, there seems to have been a growing shift from Van Aert, focusing more and more on his super domestique duties, as proven by the fact he's not won a stage in his last two appearances at the French Grand Tour.
“Wout is someone who will always support his team,” analyses Sep Vanmarcke on the latest episode of the Sporza Daily podcast. “But you have to give him his opportunities too — he simply has too much talent to be overlooked. It’s important that he gets to sprint a few times, just to keep that sharpness, that instinct to mix it up.”
“If he were the sole leader, he could win the first ten stages," adds Vanmarcke, clearly full of praise for his compatriot. "But at the same time, those uphill finishes are dangerous for Vingegaard — they’re crucial moments where he could lose position or time. So the question is: will Visma let Van Aert take his shot, or will they insist he stays with Vingegaard until the general classification takes shape? I wouldn’t like to say.”
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As noted by Vanmarcke's podcast partner Maarten Vangramberen though, for Team Visma | Lease a Bike, stage wins and the Green Jersey will be very much a secondary aim at the upcoming Tour. “The yellow jersey is the be-all and end-all for that team," he explains. "If Van Aert were allowed to ride entirely for himself, without having to worry about anyone else, he could win a few stages — and the green jersey would be well within reach. But he’ll be pushed into that straitjacket of a super-domestique."
"Sometimes it’s like having two riders in one. He’s someone you can call on for the entire Tour. And yet, I do wonder — won’t there be moments when he attacks, with Vingegaard on his wheel? If the two of them get away, there’s a real chance for Wout to win the stage,” he concludes. “Of course, the team also has Affini, Benoot and Campenaerts—riders who can hammer away to close any gaps. So Wout will get a bit of freedom now and then, just not every day.”
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- Yes, unfortunately it’s still very difficult to get sprinters to ride in a way that doesn’t endanger others, their sense of the limit you can go to to take advantage of others without causing serious danger or risk seems to vary/be very random from one rider and day to another. Unfortunately, even though they don’t do a good job, it will still take a big effort from the UCI to scare riders into riding more preventatively.Mistermaumau15-07-2025
- Could happen, but if the past teaches us anything, that's highly unlikely. In a sense it did happen with Contador and Froome back in 2014 when they were trying to catch up to the shark from Messina.awp15-07-2025
- You ignored the possibility they crash each other out.Mistermaumau15-07-2025
- It's hilarious and ridiculous at the same time.
santiagobenites15-07-2025 - Some wise words from Jasper Philipsen, and a good lesson on how to respond to a bad situation with dignity, maturity, and class. I wish him all the best in his recovery and return to the peloton.santiagobenites15-07-2025
- I can tell you who will win the 2025 Tour, Jonas or Tadej LOL.awp15-07-2025
- Hard to say this until they hit the high mountains, Jonas does look good though.awp15-07-2025
- under the radar doesn't mean losing time everytime the road goes upabstractengineer15-07-2025
- ...."Nobody was tipping on Healy in yellow yesterday." You obversely do not follow cycling very closely. Just check Team EF, many cycling sites and also european TV and you will find many pundits gave Ben a chance at Yellow on stage 10. Again total rubbish
Senna196015-07-2025 - These oldies are basically going insane. Every little gesture has a deeper meaning or does not mean anything at all.🤦abstractengineer15-07-2025
Win all of the first 10 stages? Or does he mean that the profile of all of those 10 stages are suited for a win by Wout? If they mean winning 10 stages, they're banking on MVDP, Milan, and a few others to crash out on stage one. Maybe something was lost in translation.
i think he meant the latter, that the first 10 are all either bunch sprints or spikey hills for puncheurs, both of which wout can win on. i didn’t read it as a PREDICTION.
Agreed. It's a shame to watch such a talented and versatile rider spending ... 90% ?... of his resources being a domestique. FREE WOUT!!! ahahah.
agreed. since 2021 van der poel has ridden as a domestique for phillipsen, but mathieu has CHOSEN that role because, for whatever reason, he just hasn’t really liked or cared about the Tour (maybe until THIS YEAR, that is). but wouter LOVES winning at the tour and cares deeply about it, and i totally agree he deserves more freedom.