Johan Museeuw: "It is a pity that we have to talk negatively about a great champion like Wout van Aert"

Johan Museeuw is a rider that lives and breathes cycling, and is part of Belgian history. His compatriot Wout van Aert is part of the same list, albeit perhaps on a smaller level, and Museeuw laments that over the past years the Belgian wasn't able to match the evolution of Mathieu van der Poel.

"Mathieu has improved a bit. And at the same time he has retained his explosiveness. It is a pity that we have to talk negatively about a great champion like Wout van Aert, but Wout has lost his explosiveness," Museeuw said in the Vals Plat podcast. "You could already see that in the cross in the winter."

The Alpecin-Deceuninck rider over the past two years has largely avoided injuries and illnesses, and has continued to evolve not only in cyclocross but the road. At this point, the Dutchman already has seven monuments in his palmarès and continues to build it in impressive fashion.

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"I don't know. Mathieu has made the move to Spain and trains a lot there on long intervals. That is also possible there. Mathieu has always been the rider of: in the lactate up and within a few seconds he can do that again. He has always trained for that," he argues. "In the past with the novices and juniors. Then his father had him do sprints of ten seconds. Mathieu has only further sharpened that. It is also the art of a rider to become even better at what you are already good at."

Van der Poel recently won Milano-Sanremo ahead of Tadej Pogacar, and a few days later decimated the in-form Mads Pedersen and Filippo Ganna at the E3 Saxo Classic. If he has the same legs, he is the one rider that should be capable of matching or beating Pogacar at the Tour of Flanders. Van Aert's form has improved, but seeing him win in Flanders seems a very distant objective.

"In the past, sprinters have trained more uphill, like Alessandro Petacchi. He rode uphill every day, but his sprint was blunted. I think you have to become better at what you are very good at. Mathieu has become a little better for me because of everything together. Quiet life in Spain, doing a lot of kilometers..."

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