"The question is how much weight he has to lose and what sacrifices he is and is not willing to make" - José de Cauwer's on Wout van Aert's Giro d'Italia debut

Wout van Aert may make his Giro d'Italia debut in 2024. Although team CEO Richard Plugge says the decision has not yet been made, the signs point towards that taking place mostly because of the Olympic Games' timing next season. Much is already said of this debut, which seems to be only a matter of time.

"The fact that Van Aert played the role of super domestique in the Tour in recent years was nice and nice for Jumbo-Visma and Jonas Vingegaard," José de Cauwer told Sporza. "But if Van Aert were your son and you saw him working so hard for someone else in the Tour, you would think to yourself: 'If he can calm down a bit, he might be able to become world champion in Glasgow.' Some argue that, whilst others believe van Aert prepared perfectly for the World Championships - with stage win focus, no green jersey battle and an early abandon from the race.

Van Aert looked very strong in August but was faced with a stronger Mathieu van der Poel. The Olympic Games present another big goal for the Belgian next summer and alongside other favourite for the title, van Aert should race the Giro d'Italia and then have a specific preparation towards Paris. However, the report of Gazzetta dello Sport also hints towards a possible overall classification chase.

With the cobbled classics as a priority in the spring, it's unsure how that would fit. Besides the obvious preparation factor, De Cauwer also questions the viability of GC stint for a rider of the weight of van Aert. "If he actually goes for a classification, the question is how much weight he has to lose and what sacrifices he is and is not willing to make," he argues.

"If he wins the Giro, that would be fantastic. That would be a turning point in his career as a cyclist. But if Van Aert excels in a few stages, that would also be very nice," he says, on what should be perhaps the most logic out of the routes he can take.

In the future however, with proper preparation, this could be an incredibly interesting question for the Jumbo-Visma rider. "I wonder whether Van Aert wants to focus on the classifications again for three weeks. With classification ambitions you put a lot of pressure on yourself. I assume that Van Aert also still wants to win the Tour of Flanders and/or Paris-Roubaix, which also creates pressure."