Thomas Dekker believes Wout van Aert’s monument dream is dying: “Soon he will be happy to be second or third”
CyclingMonday, 31 March 2025 at 09:18
Wout van Aert endured a hugely underwhelming performance at
the E3 Saxo Classic on Friday, failing to feature at any point in the decisive
moves. The race was completely dominated by Mathieu van der Poel, who rode away
from the field to take a commanding solo victory.
Van Aert, who had only just returned from an altitude
training camp, appeared off the pace throughout. His subdued display raised
eyebrows, particularly given how crucial this part of the Spring Classics
calendar is for the Belgian star.
Speaking on the Live Slow, Ride Fast podcast, former
pro Thomas Dekker expressed sympathy for Van Aert and lamented the absence of a
head-to-head battle between the long-time rivals.
"I'm a cycling fan and you want to see a fight,"
Dekker said. "Milan-Sanremo was beautiful because Pogacar couldn't get Van
der Poel off him, we've seen that duel so often in cyclo-cross. You want Van
der Poel versus Van Aert. I feel that more than with Van der Poel versus
Pedersen, because that has never really been a duel."
Having seen Van Aert return from training in the mountains,
Dekker had hoped for a strong showing to kickstart the next phase of his
Classics campaign. But with Van der Poel and Pogacar continuing to set a level
above the rest, he now fears the coming weeks may follow a similar pattern.
"You hope that he comes down from the mountain and
starts with a kick-start for the coming weeks. I hope not, but there is a big
chance that it will not work out next week. Van der Poel and Pogacar are better
than everyone, Van Aert has to make a big step."
Dekker also suggested that Van Aert’s attempts to influence
races in recent weeks have fallen flat, not through a lack of effort, but
through an apparent dip in power and sharpness.
"I see Van Aert lately occasionally trying to get away
or close a gap, but he doesn't get there. He can't deliver the power to get
away or put something right. The chance that that will be different next week
is very small. Let alone that you are better than Van der Poel."
There is growing concern that Van Aert’s long-standing goal
of winning a cobbled Monument could be slipping further from reach. Dekker
warns that if expectations shift from winning to simply finishing on the
podium, it could represent a turning point in the Visma rider's career.
"Everything is focused on winning a Monument, but soon
he will be happy to be second or third. If that becomes the logic, there will
simply be a change in his career."
While still backing Team Visma | Lease a Bike to remain
competitive, Dekker admitted that expecting Van Aert to beat Van der Poel in
his current form might not be realistic.
"But I'm still looking at Visma winning that race, and
I think they'll be at the start like that too. Is that realistic? It doesn't
seem like it. I think he'll be very happy if he finishes second or third. I
hope that gives hope for an extra step in the future, because Van der Poel will
also be less good at some point."
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- lol so true. hunt stages. pidcock is the most perplexing rider in the pelotonmij08-06-2025
- Nice to see Jonas coming out of his shell, both during and after the race. Wonder what he said that made Tadej react 'Oh really?!'.Renz08-06-2025
- ah
KerisVroom08-06-2025 - Jonas wanted to congratulate Tadej, that's all. He was distracted.
maria2024202408-06-2025 - A podium would have kept the streak going, but winning makes it even stronger. Since Jebel Hafeet at the UAE Tour, across Strade Bianchi and 4 monuments, he has been no worse than third. 9 consecutive podiums, 6 wins on the road, one GC. Good lord.RidesHills08-06-2025
- Fantastic and unexpected! a Jonas in Tadej style! My fear was that Jonas might be too worried (a bit paralyzed) by the risks of cycling after his crashes.. I'm very happy to see that it's not the case.maria2024202408-06-2025
- Weird that Jonas pulled his hand away from MvDP when MvDP wanted to congratulate him on the 2nd place.KerisVroom08-06-2025
- His team's management, coaches, and agent likely have better insight
Front24208-06-2025 - "I did my best-ever hour in terms of power and was seven minutes behind. The thing is, for me, I've never raced up an hour-long climb before. And I've never trained for an hour-long effort" Bro why are you doing GC for god's sake when you have not the talent, the capacity, the training for GCabstractengineer08-06-2025
- Yes it was shocking to lose the Jersey in such a fashion and there was far to much questionable riding between the top 4, often being saved because Gee was trying to get into the top 3 but riding like was 2nd half the time when was just the 4 of them. The fact Isaac held on for so long given that, at his age was incredible and well worth a celebration. Its his team that truely failed him by chasing down when had dropped Yates(?) that stage and was gonna strengthen his lead and had Gee for IPT riding hard to help (again) to try and get 3rd but stupidly UAE chased it down and that cost the race.HoopoeChai08-06-2025
Hard to imagine that his confidence - that imperious flow state that great athletes operate in - hasn't been affected.
But that is a different dynamic than the one you described. He has not become hesitant because he is fixated on his rival. He has suffered multiple traumatic injuries, and I have no doubt he is still 1% off both mentally and physically as a result. Football (both kinds) and basketball players who blow out knees go through a predictable cycle in which they are reluctant to do max efforts even after their doctors have cleared them. I myself went though a small version of that after a back injury. It's just hard once you no longer know where the line is. We saw in his TT a couple weeks ago that he still has power, and for all the hand wringing he is still finishing in the top 10-20 of big races. But as we have seen with others, getting *all* the way back is not assured. I'm not ready to say he is done, but few riders who have been hurt as often and as badly as him remain at the top.