PRESS CONFERENCE | Wout van Aert has no green jersey plans and confirms high stage win ambitions: "That's what I want to focus on"

Wout van Aert is one of the most versatile riders on the planet and so heading to the Tour de France, he will have several role within Team Visma | Lease a Bike. In a press conference attended by CyclingUpToDate this Friday, the Belgian has talked about the key topics ahead of his seventh Grand Boucle appearance.

Amongst the topics discussed were his recent illness, combining the Giro d'Italia with the Tour de France, green jersey ambitions (or lack thereof), his form heading into the race and his opinions on the route change on the final Paris stage which now includes the Montmarte circuit.

Answer: Luckily I feel healthy again, it was a small setback with a really bad timing, I got sick the night before the nationals at the team hotel and Sunday I could barely eat but luckily I had a stomach flu and on Monday I was healthy again and I got back on the bike. It was solved quickly.

A: I hope not of course. I still feel slightly less than last week. I think for sure I'm recovered from the illness and hopefully once we're racing it will not affect me.

A: It will be very difficult to do on my own (laughs, ed.). But obviously the main goal for the team is GC for Jonas, but I think we'll go hand-in-hand. The stages that should suit me are also stages that are important for Jonas to be in front, so I think it's important to have a super strong team to keep in position and race in the finales.

A: The green jersey is not on my mind, I think it's hard to take enough points in the flat bunch sprints and with the GC ambitions we have as a team it will be nice to have a few days with a less pressure on, and going for green is a work for every day. To be honest I enjoyed winning the green jersey a few years ago but I enjoyed more all the stage wins I had already in the Tour de France and that's what I want to focus on.

A: It depends, but in general I'd say my chances are bigger in the punchy stages.

A: Doesn't really matter, from inside the team I feel like there's a nice balance between the goals we have, and I also have support in the goals we chase with me in this Tour de France. I'm also not afraid of pressure because it's always there.

A: Yeah I think it will feel like a classic some days because I have to say the course is really interesting, there are a lot of stages with tricky final where attacks will happen for sure. Of course, the mountains will decide in the end, but the first week is already critical and yeah it will be nice for a guy like me to have a course like that.

A: That would be nice. It's also what I was thinking after the Vuelta last year, it went pretty good to do two Grand Tours, so there was a question on my side to the team to do two Grand Tours. But you never know, it's not science. A lot is science nowadays but you cannot predict everything.

A: You're mentioning two of my most memorable wins I would say. It was pretty special winning in the yellow jersey and also the Ventoux win is something that really sticks. It's pretty fun that we visit both areas in this Tour and for sure it will cross my mind when we pass it.

A: We'll just take it as it comes, never really planning it. There's for sure more climbing power in the team than what I have, I won't be the last guy to work but yeah it'll be interesting to have me in the break and that.

A: At this point it's hard to say specially after the last week with the illness but yeah. I feel the same but it will be easier to answer this after the Tour.

A: That's a good question. Personally I didn't like the change too much, I like the form of having the final race on the Champs-Elysées. People can maybe tell you it's a parade but I can tell you it's an hour flat out to hold the wheels and then the mass sprint. I think it was historical to do it like that and it didn't really need a change. On the other hand, how the course is now suits me better. I just hope we will go to the race safe and bad luck will not change the classification anymore.