"I’m very happy with how I raced" - Wout van Aert shows signs of life with 4th placed finish at Tour of Flanders 2025
Cycling
Wout van Aert has had a difficult 2025 season so far, both on and off the bike. After the recent disappointment of Dwars Door Vlaanderen, criticism of the Belgian reached a fever pitch. Impressively though, Van Aert has bounced back very strongly at the 2025 Tour of Flanders, despite eventually being forced to settle for 4th place at the line.
Having been able to consistently keep pace with the likes of Tadej Pogacar and Mathieu van der Poel, it wasn't until the very last ascent of the Oude Kwaremont that Van Aert was finally distanced properly. Even then though, the Belgian showed bright sparks attack before the climb in an albeit sacrificial move to try and get ahead of the imminent Pogacar attack.
"I’m very happy with how I raced," reflected a more than content Van Aert in his post-race interview afterwards with Belgian media. "I didn’t burn out today. When we got back into the race towards the last time up the Oude Kwaremont, I didn’t want to just get dropped, so I wanted to try something. When you see how Tadej came by, it was definitely a smart move to try and start with a lead."
"Tadej was the strongest today. Everyone was at their limit when he made his move. It’s really gratifying for me. In the final, you hope for a spot on the podium, but I can accept fourth place," adds the Team Visma | Lease a Bike superstar. "I knew Mads Pedersen would go early in the sprint, but I wanted to stay in his slipstream for as long as possible to still have a chance to do something."
And with Paris-Roubaix very much in mind for the likes of Van Aert, there is now reason to be optimistic. "Yes, for sure. Even though things didn’t go as expected last Wednesday, I never lost my motivation and kept working, and it really pays off now. Especially the second time up the Kwaremont, those long efforts suited me best," he concludes.
🇧🇪 #RVV
— Team Visma | Lease a Bike (@vismaleaseabike) April 6, 2025
A fourth place for Wout, after a very strong fight!
Confidence. 💪🏼 pic.twitter.com/U4PhfkHS6H
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- If you do the rounds on non-Anglo commentators you’ll find plenty more, every cycling nation has good and bad ones.Mistermaumau10-04-2025
- Nathan is one of the best former pros commenting during races - up there with Sean Kelly and Nico Roche imo - McEwen, Blythe, you can keep themCrashjames10-04-2025
- Impressive and surprising, well done. Go for it more often please.Mistermaumau10-04-2025
- Good choice of profile picture by the way :-)Mistermaumau10-04-2025
- Bolt was an outlier, for some people it can’t exist. Funny thing is 3 generations later, a lot of amateurs reach the level the average pro had. Ok, maybe counting from today it might be 5 or 6 generations because we won’t all have access to the equipment and staff and assistance pros now need to perform.Mistermaumau10-04-2025
- Actually, I’ve not noticed that fans have even noticed results are provisional so as far as the sport itself goes, I wouldn’t worry too much. Obviously some riders will miss out on celebrating but then these days, they’re all paid so well that it’s quite a small price to pay. Andy Schleck certainly didn’t get to party like he was used to when he received Alberto’s trophy and titles, nevertheless, he’s in the books and I’m sure he feels like and gets treated like a tdf winner. CATCHING dopers is good for the sport, though at the moment I’d have no idea who to go looking for.Mistermaumau10-04-2025
- Someone like David Walsh, who was the point person in the Sky Team coverup? When there was money and fame in bringing down Armstrong, he went for that. Then he sold that crusader image to Sky. And then renounced them. The guy has made more money from athletes and doping without ever once competing himself, having to take drugs, or even stand for a single principle. He is no different than Novitzsky, who was pivotal in the Armstrong investigations, and helped put Marion Jones in jail. Now he is full-time in the coverup business for the UFC.
Barney10-04-2025 - Do you think that making results provisional for 10 years makes for good sport? Or in any way remotely fairer, or safer?Barney10-04-2025
- Christian Scaroni, Clément Champoussin, Harold Tejada, Simone Velasco ... Peripheral riders who have failed to make much impression so far in their carrier, suddenly starting to win everywhere, climbing with the best in weekly WT races. Aging riders years after their prime, now seen more often than none at the head of the peloton in the classics. Still, no what is talking about the Chinese candies in the roomBM10-04-2025
- It's easy to dismiss doubters. We need someone like David Walsh who dares to ask the hard question. In the mean time, I wouldn't worry too much about Tadej. Whether he dopes or not, at least, he's not a terrible person like LA Doper.
KerisVroom10-04-2025