"This weekend is not a priority for Wout van Aert" - José de Cauwer argues that victories in Opening weekend would not make Wout van Aert's spring

Wout van Aert will not face Tadej Pogacar, Mathieu van der Poel and Mads Pedersen on the Opening Weekend. This gives him a good position to take an important win; but in the big picture it is widely agreed that a victory at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad or Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne will not make his spring.

"If you are not Wout van Aert. Everyone else can almost say that their spring was a success," José de Cauwer argued for Sporza regarding a possible victory in both Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne. The pressure is definitely on the shoulders of the Belgian who hopes to finally win a cobbled monument this year. "If we just said that Van Aert must win more than in the opening weekend, then it doesn't really matter to him. This weekend is not a priority for Wout van Aert."

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PREVIEW | Omloop het Nieuwsblad 2024 - Visma versus the rest; Dutch team leads with Van Aert, Laporte, Van Baarle, Tratnik and Jorgenson

In the opening weekend Visma also have Christophe Laporte, Dylan van Baarle, Jan Tratnik and Matteo Jorgenson. The Dutch team are absolute favourites to win this weekend. "That is actually not opposition, but these are race situations. He (van Aert, ed.) alone has to ensure that he does not end up in a bad situation. Then it becomes difficult."

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"This is a test, to see where he is in achieving his big goals... But the big four of the World Championships - Van der Poel, Pogacar, Van Aert and Pedersen - do not see winning a race in the opening weekend as synonymous with a successful spring."

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Christophe Laporte: "Mathieu and Wout are above the rest in the great classics, but the others, I am capable of beating them"

Jonas Vingegaard discusses UAE's Tour de France super team, Roglic and Evenepoel; and absence of Wout van Aert: "Wout is Wout and he also needs his chances"

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