“It’s not exactly a route tailored to me” – Wout van Aert weighs up limited 2026 Tour chances as he eyes careful cyclocross return
Cycling
Wout van Aert has offered an honest early verdict on the 2026 Tour de France route, admitting the parcours may not be perfectly aligned with his strengths — while confirming that his winter racing plans remain flexible as he eases back into training following a long break.
With a route heavy on pure sprint finishes and brutal high-mountain summit days, and noticeably light on the kind of hilly, chaotic transition stages where he so often thrives, Van Aert knows he may need to be selective when July arrives.
“There aren’t too many stages that appeal to me one hundred per cent,” Van Aert said when asked about the Tour by VTM Nieuws at Tim Declerq's farewell race. “A couple of days for the breakaways, but that’s never guaranteed. Otherwise it’s sprints or really tough mountain stages. So no, it’s not exactly a route tailored to me.”
Despite that tempered assessment, he was quick to stress that his ambitions remain undimmed. “My goal is to be back at one hundred per cent next year, and when I’m at that level I can show something on any parcours. That’s what I’m going to work towards.”
Fewer “Van Aert days” on 2026 route
Van Aert has built his Tour legend on the types of stages that blur categories — crosswinds, steep ramps, messy finales and reduced-bunch sprints where the race turns on positioning and nerve. The 2026 route offers far fewer of those windows, instead leaning towards flat drag-strip sprints and decisive, selective GC battles in the Alps.
Opportunities will still exist — late-race breakaways, unexpected crosswind moments on transition days, or attritional hilly terrain before the mountains — but they look like harder puzzles to solve than in years when the route felt purpose-built for his skill-set.
As such, there is a genuine question over how Visma will deploy Van Aert next July. Will he once again balance key support duties with selective freedom to chase stages? Or will the team ask him to go all-in behind Jonas Vingegaard as the Dane looks to reclaim the Maillot Jaune?
Cross will “give way a little” again — but return is edging closer
Before July, however, comes winter. And while Van Aert will return to cyclocross, the discipline again sits behind his spring and summer targets. He has only recently restarted easy training after what he called a “really enjoyable and much-needed” holiday, and will not rush a decision on his opening CX race.
“I’ve honestly no idea yet,” he said of his comeback date. “Only in the past couple of weeks have I started training again, and very gently at that. My real preparation will start in about ten days. I need to see how I feel then in order to draw up a realistic plan.”
And as in recent seasons, cross will be used as a stepping stone rather than a season-defining target. “It has to fit within my build-up to the road season,” he noted. “As much as I enjoy cross, I’m still hugely ambitious for the Classics. Right now, cross has to give way a little.”
With fitness work now underway and his race legs set to follow soon after, Van Aert appears determined to re-emerge in 2026 as a major force — even if the Tour route may demand creativity in his search for a landmark win.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- It would likely be a very steep section of 4.1 km, not changing the average gradient considerably, with the climb remaining 10.1 km at 11.8%. It would reach 20% on the gravel. It would start 1.6 km in, and finish with 4.2 km left to climb (before the short final descent)
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- Sure, little fella.awp02-11-2026
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