"We will choose the days" - Wout Van Aert promised his own chances at the Tour de France

With two-time champion Jonas Vingegaard among their ranks, Visma | Lease a Bike are the prime favourites to challenge Tadej Pogacar for his Tour de France throne. With a strong mountain team only UAE can match, the Dutch team will hold the thrumps. And their ace in the sleeve is undeniably Wout Van Aert.

First things first though, the team around Danish leader needs to play it cool in what can turn into a chaotic first week. "We've had several of these types of approaches and we all know that it can be hectic," knows sports director Arthur van Dongen in an interview with In de Leiderstrui.

The parcours are one thing, but nobody wants to make a mistake in the relatively easy opening stages. With riders riding on their limit to prevent such mistakes, that's usually where chaos unfolds. "Everyone wants to be at the front and I think that the classification teams will invest a lot in being at the front, while the sprint teams will also make an effort."

"Some stages are a bit more difficult in the final, so that can also provide a spectacle. I hope that there will not be any classification riders who will be beaten by minutes or even worse, which I don't want to think about. But with this course structure, which I understand from the point of view that this is also France, it is always more dangerous than a Florence or Bilbao. That brings a lot of danger with it and that can be exciting."

Obviously, the big goal of Visma | Lease a Bike for the Tour de France is an overall triumph with Jonas Vingegaard - something the whole team is prepared to sacrifice themselves for. No exceptions. Not even for Wout van Aert. The Belgian played a crucial role in the Simon Yates' ultimate coup at the Giro d'Italia and there was no question about selecting the 30-year-old for his second Grand Tour in 2025.

But there's also plenty stages for Van Aert in the opening week and the team is not planning to completely restrict his chances. "With Wout we will choose the days, but the big main goal is clear and that is that Jonas gets through those days safely."