"Top riders like Wout have an enormous urge to prove themselves" - Visma firmly believe Wout van Aert will be back to his best in Spring 2025

After a year savaged by bad luck, injury and crashes in 2024, Wout van Aert is entering 2025 looking for a fresh start. According to the noise coming out of the Team Visma | Lease a Bike camp, as the Belgian's season opener nears, all the signs are resoundingly positive.

"My feeling is that Wout has digested his crosses excellently and has been able to train well in Mallorca over the past two weeks," assesses Team Visma | Lease a Bike sports director Arthur van Dongen to De Zondag, insistent that his team's star can be a match for the likes of Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogacar this Spring. "He will certainly be competitive for the goals he has set. We are working in steps. His absolute main goals will not be reached until the beginning of April, so he cannot be in top form yet."

"After Jaén and the Algarve, we will make a first assessment towards the Omloop and Kuurne," continues Van Dongen, casting an eye over Van Aert's route through the first portion of 2025. "Wout is in almost daily contact with his trainer Mathieu Heijboer. You have the big picture, but besides that, it is constant adjustment and fine-tuning."

It's easy to forget because of the Dwars door Vlaanderen crash that ruled him out of the Monuments, but early last Spring, Van Aert was looking in very good form. After a reduced cyclocross calendar this winter, Van Dongen is confident the Belgian can re-find his best form on the road in the coming months. "After Jaén and Algarve we will know more. But don't forget that Wout was out of action for a long time because of that crash in the Vuelta," he evaluates. "Top riders like Wout have an enormous urge to prove themselves. That character trait has brought him to the top. Top sport is literally falling and getting up again."

"I wouldn't be surprised if Wout immediately takes control of his first race, but that is not the same as saying that he will win guaranteed," Van Dongen concludes. "UAE will be starting with a very strong team, with guys who already have race rhythm, and last year we saw that a lot can happen along the way. Wout is one of the favourites, but he is in almost all the races he participates in."