"Teammates are free to tell me if they think I've done something wrong" - Wout van Aert's advice on how to be a good team leader

One of the biggest names in modern cycling, more often than not, when Wout van Aert races he is team leader. Handling the weight of expectation can be difficult though, and as such isn't for everyone. According to Van Aert, good leadership needs open and honest communication.

"In our team culture, everyone is allowed to be critical," the Belgian explains to Sport Knack magazine about how the team leaders and the domestiques combine for success at Team Visma | Lease a Bike. "Teammates are free to tell me if they think I've done something wrong. I appreciate that too, because that's how I learn. And that's what it's all about: making progress."

According to Van Aert, this team culture owes a lot to former staff member Merijn Zeeman, who recently departed for a new challenge at Dutch football team at AZ Alkmaar. "From the start, he gave me a distinctive role in the team. I even think that he ascribed to me a greater role, as a leader, than I initially realised," Van Aert recalls warmly of the mentor-type role played by Zeeman. "He gave me freedom, thought it was important that I was there and made my voice heard. He even admonished me: 'Wout, if this is your opinion, you have to say it yourself to your teammates. That makes it stronger.'"

That seems to have worked too. Previously, Van Aert has been described by teammate Bart Lemmen as one of "the absolute leaders of Team Visma | Lease a Bike" alongside Jonas Vingegaard.

"I have always been assertive. A quality I inherited from my parents. They also say what is on their minds," Van Aert adds on the topic of leadership. "Saying your opinion outspokenly and directly, it fits in with Dutch culture. I may have done it there in a more 'polite' way than before. Also because I was effectively listened to when I raised something. Real leadership has grown from there."