Van Aert has said no, but a compatriot believes he has the legs to fight for Giro d'Italia GC - "The riders do not come up against a super steep climb anywhere"

Wout van Aert will race the Giro d'Italia, this has been known for quite a while. Having shown himself in the past occasionally as a very strong climber, many hope to one day see what he would be capable of if he decided to race for the GC in a Grand Tour. An interesting challenge, but one that will not happen this year. Still, Thomas de Gendt can't resist the prospect of the Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider giving it a shot.

“I have seen this year’s course and it is still a relatively easy Giro. The riders do not come up against a super steep climb anywhere, so if he really has ambition for it, then this year offers a very good chance," de Gendt argues in an interview with Sporza.

In fairness to the former Lotto rider, if there was any Grand Tour where van Aert could succeed in recent years, this Corsa Rosa would certainly be a top opportunity. The race starts off with some hilly days and a time-trial where he can certainly take over the pink jersey; there is no major summit finish on week 1 but there is a very difficult stage on the roads of Strade Bianche which he's won once and finished on the podium two other occasions earlier in his career...

Stage 10 has another time-trial, and then several of the mountain stages feature big climbs far from the finish where there may not be an intense battle. Winning the Giro would be virtually impossible even for a peak form van Aert, but in the past he's climbed so well, that a Top5 or Top10 could be possible. For many fans, such a challenge for the incredibly versatile Belgian could lead to a thrilling few weeks, but this is certainly not happening - for the time being, at least.

Many have posed arguments, but van Aert has already responded to that questions, and guarrantees that ambition lies with someone else in the team: "At the Giro I certainly won't aim for a classification, it's never been a project under discussion and I don't like it at all. Simon Yates will be the classification rider of the team at the Giro".

De Gendt however, a former finisher at the Giro d'Italia, lacks no arguments as to why it would be a good opportunity for the 30-year old to give it a shot. “Last year there were perhaps a bit too many, but now I have noticed that the Giro is a bit afraid of the 2,000 meter limit. If the weather is bad in those mountains, they have to cancel those climbs too often.”