"It won't be a pure bunch sprint" - Wout van Aert favourite for first Maillot Jaune of 2024 Tour de France says Jan Bakelants

As seen at the most recent Giro d'Italia, chances to wear the leader's jersey at a Grand Tour can be few and far between. With the opening stage of the 2024 Tour de France now just days away, talk of the first stage and the first Maillot Jaune are a hot topic on the lips of cycling experts.

Speaking on the podcast Wuyts & Vlaeminck, ex-pro, former Tour de France stage winner and Maillot Jaune wearer for two days, Jan Bakelants has named his fellow Belgian Wout van Aert as the favourite to take the opening stage of the 2024 Tour de France. "He has to consider every stage as a classic to try to win as much as possible. Winning himself, yes," Bakelants begins. "It won't be a pure bunch sprint in Rimini, but I don't think the real climbers will attack each other there either. A scenario is expected of a sprint with thirty people and I don't see a scenario in which Wout will not be among the first thirty. Then he will not have anyone of his calibre in that group."

Joining Bakelants was Belgian cycling expert Michel Wuyts and in his opinion, van Aert isn't the only name to mention in consideration with the Maillot Jaune. "Michael Matthews could," he proposes. "But still... If we consult the statistics and look back at how often Matthews has beaten Wout in the sprint... Wout can win those kinds of stages with a final on a downward trend at 95 percent."

After van Aert's spring ended abruptly with a crash at Dwars door Vlaanderen, the Belgian returned to racing with a positive showing at the Tour of Norway. Then, after a spell at altitude alongside the likes of Jonas Vingegaard and Christophe Laporte, van Aert took on the Belgian National Championships last week, finishing 5th as Arnaud De Lie took the tricolor.

"He has grown enormously by riding the Tour of Norway," Bakelants assesses of van Aert following the Belgian championship road race. "In the sprint, no one came out ahead against De Lie. That start was apparently so scorching. Philipsen also had to remain seated at the wheel."