PRESS CONFERENCE | Wout van Aert has no green jersey plans and confirms high stage win ambitions: "That's what I want to focus on"
Cycling
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.
Question: Can you give us an update on your physical condition? You have been sick for a little bit, what's the situation at the moment to start the Tour de France?
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.
Q: Will it affect your performance?
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.
Q: You said yesterday on Dutch TV that you will go for stages, but are you going to get some support from the team or are you going to do it on your own since there is also Jonas to protect on GC?
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.
Q: If you get your first win potentially, could the green jersey go in hand?
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.
Q: The flat bunch sprints and the time-trial are still the main focus for you?
A: It depends, but in general I'd say my chances are bigger in the punchy stages.
Q: The 'noise' in the team I suppose is in other riders like Jonas, Simon, Matteo. Does that help you on your goals of focusing on the Tour, and give more freedom in what you want to do?
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.
Q: Do you think there will be classics profile in the first week with the hectic stages and narrow roads, do you see the similarities?
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.
Q: Last year you were at a high level at the Vuelta with the Tour already in the legs. This year you've ridden the Giro, are you confident that you can reach a level now in your second Grand Tour?
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.
Q: You have got some good memories in the north of France with your yellow jersey (2022 victory in Calais, ed.) and Ventoux (his 2021 win, ed.).
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.
Q: Do you remember what you did for Simon at the Giro? With the team you have for this Tour with a lot of climbers, what is going to be your role in the mountains? Maybe less important? Or pacing for the first climbs?
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.
Q: Do you feel it's different having the Giro in the legs?
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.
Q: We have the new Montmarte circuit in Paris. Do you consider it an unnecessary risk or golden opportunity to take a big win?
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.
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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