23/02/2023

"It is time for Van Aert to win those Monuments" - Jose De Cauwer backing Wout van Aert for spring success

According to Jose De Cauwer, the time is right for Jumbo-Visma to go all in on Wout van Aert for the monuments as the team looks to improve their spring record.

"Let's say they are the standard. But I still conclude that it is also difficult for Jumbo-Visma to win the spring monuments," De Cauwer and Karl Vannieuwkerke discuss in De Tribune. "Wout van Aert won Milan-Sanremo in 2020, but that's where it ends for him. It must therefore play in his head that something is urgently needed. "I'm getting older and if I want to upholster my honours list, now is the time to win the Ronde or Roubaix."

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"It is time for Van Aert to win those Monuments," De Cauwer muses. "It is really not the intention that Van Baarle Roubaix wins again. The others can win everything, from the Omloop to Gent-Wevelgem. But when it comes to those two races, Van Aert will be the man."

"He has already given so much for the team, including in the Tour with Jonas Vingegaard. That is why he will demand: those two races are for me," he continues. "I had the idea that Van Aert is a better rider than Tom Boonen. More complete. He has done things that we have not seen from Boonen. But if you look at Boonen's palmares, it is still miles away from what Van Aert has done!"

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With van Aert soon to become a father for the second time it would be understandable if cycling wasn't his priority this summer as the pair discuss. "That summer is more unpredictable, maybe he will become a dad during the Tour. Will he leave then?" Questions Vannieuwkerke. "The World Championship is shortly after the Tour, so you can't go all out for 3 weeks without going to that World Championship like a squeezed lemon. Those uncertainties make spring even more important for Van Aert."

"We've become demanding," he admits. "If he wins the E3 or Gent-Wevelgem and not a Ronde or Roubaix, then you can hardly speak of a smashing spring. While for many riders their spring has been successful. By skipping races like the Omloop, he himself confirms what we say here. Only the important races count."