"Just one serious crash away from quitting" - Thomas De Gendt hopes Wout Van Aert's career will go on as long as possible
Cycling
Wout Van Aert is a fan-favourite (not only) in Belgium for a variety of reasons. One of them is his close bond with fans which he built back in his days as cyclocrosser, and which has only blossomed since then. As Belgium's last world champion (three times), Van Aert is naturally held in high esteem.
Simply a lovely person
But it's not only his engaging racing style which attracts the attention of masses. Thomas De Gendt highlights Van Aert's personality as a key to maintaining great reputation also off the bike. The former professional illustrates this with an anecdote about a borrowed altitude tent in Spain.
When De Gendt returned two months later, everything was neatly set up with a bottle of champagne and a thank-you note. "He didn't have to do that, but that's just how he is: friendly," De Gendt writes in his Cyclingnews column.
Read also
After switching to road cycling, Van Aert became very successful there as well, even though bad luck with injuries at times might've prevented him from ever reaching his full potential. That is why his 2026 Paris-Roubaix victory was such a celebrated moment as much by his fans as by Van Aert himself.
People do love outsiders
Especially since the Visma rider has never really started a Monument among the biggest favourites in presence of his long-time rival Mathieu van der Poel. And more recently also Tadej Pogacar. And that's why De Gendt believes separates him from the double Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel.
"We Belgians love underdogs," explains De Gendt. "Remco Evenepoel says beforehand that he is going to win, and if that doesn't happen, some people are happy about it," he analyzes.
Wout Van Aert wins the 2026 Paris-Roubaix
Importance of Vuelta
Even though Van Aert cleared one massive milestone out of his bucket list, the rest of the 2026 season has once again not been a walk in the park. Although Van Aert has been winning slightly more often than usual, his level was on a rollercoaster which caused him to miss the Tour de France.
That's a shame, but also a new opportunity for Van Aert who returns to Vuelta a Espana as Visma's leader alongside young sprinter Matthew Brennan. In absence of Jonas Vingegaard, it's a rare opportunity to assert himself for the 31-year-old. That leadership role might gradually shift towards the team's younger riders, but Van Aert can remind everyone of his greatness at the Grand Tour stage.
"He can put his foot down and say that he is riding only for himself," states De Gendt. He will not sacrifice his own chances for just any teammate. And the Vuelta will be just as important a platform for Van Aert's ambitions at Montreal World Championships one month later... at least until the reigning champion decides to make it his own show once again: "Everyone has a plan until Pogacar attacks."
Please, no more crashes
Van Aert himself does not specify for how long he plans to continue to race, however De Gendt sees his compatriot's retirement much closer around the corner than we might want to admit, considering Van Aert's injury history. "I think he is only one serious crash away from quitting."
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
- I'm picking .... .... Never mind 🫥flyer07-11-2026
- If Tiberi has a better and more consistent 2027 I somehow doubt it will be because of this victorious warning. Unless his preparation has been off, cycling isn't football.flyer07-11-2026
Loading
3 Comments