Jumbo-Visma believe Wout van Aert can 'compete for top-5' overall at 2024 Giro d'Italia
Cycling
Rumours are that Wout van Aert is set for a Giro d'Italia debut in 2024 and Jumbo-Visma are extremely confident in the Belgian's abilities, even going so far as to believe he mount a Maglia Rosa challenge.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, the 29-year-old, who has five Grand Tours in his legs, all five being at the Tour de France, could be set to skip the French Grand Tour in 2024, favouring a race plan that includes the Giro d'Italia and the Olympic Games.
Van Aert has clearly proven his capabilities in three-week stage races over the years. At the 2021 Tour de France for example, he even won a sprint stage, a mountain stage and an individual time-trial stage in the same edition of the race.
As we have seen in the past, the likes of Sean Kelly (Vuelta a Espana winner in 1988) has proven that the all-round riders that can sprint, punch, time-trial and climb relatively well can transition into Grand Tour challengers. With support from the all-conquering Jumbo-Visma team, it doesn't seem farfetched that Wout van Aert could win the Maglia Rosa.
At about 172 lbs, he's likely too heavy to win a Grand Tour. I would love to see him try though.
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