"We will really be able to tell what my level is like" - Wout van Aert anticipates cobbled classics return
Cycling
Wout van Aert has been training quite consistently for several months now, first for the cyclocross season and then World Championships; but always with the road season as a priority. Over his first tests in Spain and Portugal he developed his form, and he aims for a win on the 'Opening Weekend'.
"I look back on the first races with a satisfied feeling. The goal was to win an extra percent in those first races and I think I succeeded," van Aert said in words on the Visma website ahead of the race.
The Clásica Jaén Paraiso Interior, his road debut this year, saw him struggle a bit and working for Ben Tulett's result on the day. At the Volta ao Algarve he couldn't take a marking result in one of the bunch sprints, but a second place in the final hilly time-trial (only behind teammate Jonas Vingegaard) was certainly a great sign of his improvement.
Van Aert now heads to Belgium, where he will be the only one of the 'big three' classics contenders who will participate in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and/or Kuurne - Bruxelles Kuurne. Tadej Pogacar rode the UAE Tour and will now race the Italian World Tour classics, whilst Mathieu van der Poel starts his season at Tirreno-Adriatico.
"I found the confidence and fun and that has pleased me a lot. I think after next weekend we will really be able to tell what my level is like," the Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider believes. "The most important thing is that I felt better every day and took a step forward."
The Dutch team will have Matteo Jorgenson as a prime contender for this Saturday's race as well with no doubt, whilst on Sunday van Aert will be defending his title in a lineup that also includes Olav Kooij as a potential winner depending on the race situation.
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🇧🇪 #OHN25 & #KBK25
— Team Visma | Lease a Bike (@vismaleaseabike) February 27, 2025
Time to kick off the classic season! 🤩
These are our guys in black & yellow this weekend at @OmloopHNB and @KuurneBxlKuurne 🐝👇 pic.twitter.com/QSd4Vwlvg1
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- Not just the crash, it was also bad positioning when the first attack of Pogi came.abstractengineer07-04-2025
- ahhh, I don't know it, yes, I'm used to 7 days of antibiotic therapy. Thank you for the information!
maria2024202407-04-2025 - So in the end he did pretty well tactically too :-)Mistermaumau07-04-2025
- Why Maria, what is your reasoning? He was already ill during E3, thought he’d get over it but it got worse which is probably when he took them. His doc will be amongst the best-informed and his infection perfectly analysed. Read this and stop relying on generalised outdated assumptions about antibiotical treatment, part of the reason they may soon no longer be effective at all. “ In 2008, one of us (L.B.R.) posited that of the different ways the medical community could reduce the amount of antibiotic treatment prescribed, the one that seemed safest and most achievable was to treat infections only for as long as necessary to achieve optimal cure rates (1). It is difficult and potentially dangerous for providers not to prescribe antibiotics at all, but it should be easier to convince them not to prescribe antibiotics for so long. The evidentiary basis of traditional durations of antibiotic therapy is that a week is 7 days (2), which is why tried-and-true antibiotic regimens are 7 to 14 days long. The definition of a week was decreed by Roman Emperor Constantine the Great nearly 2000 years ago (2). This seems an unsatisfactory evidentiary basis for modern medical practice. Fortunately, in recent years, more than 45 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have compared the efficacy of short-course versus traditional, longer courses of antibiotic therapy for the treatment of community-acquired and nosocomial pneumonia, acute exacerbation of chronic bronchitis and sinusitis, complicated urinary and intra-abdominal infections, Gram-negative bacteremia, acute bacterial skin infections, osteomyelitis and septic arthritis, and even neutropenic fever (3, 4). All RCTs for these diseases and 2 meta-analyses of these RCTs (5, 6) found no difference in efficacy between shorter and traditional courses of antibiotic therapy. Of note, the short-course regimens that were studied were typically not based on Constantine’s 7-day week. For pneumonia specifically, 8 RCTs have shown that 3- to 5-day courses of antibiotic therapy are at least as effective as 7- to 14-day courses for community-acquired pneumonia”Mistermaumau07-04-2025
- Totally. There may still be some details to disgust us but it won’t change anything to the basics of what happened and that the punishment was totally appropriate. If there was/is anything relevant to add, nothing is stopping him from doing that, he hasthe platform and connections and know-how how to defend himself in precarious affairs so why hesitate??? No use to your ego once you’re dead ;-) Barring a Trump pardon and awarding of fake US TdF titles, I don’t see it happening on this planetMistermaumau07-04-2025
- Silly comment in light of what was revealed post-race. Obviously the illness affected him on the day, he was even outsprinted by MP and Wout kept up with him.Mistermaumau07-04-2025
- Meaning, if dad was asked before he knew of the top secret* illness he wouldn’t have been able to integrate it into his “analysis”. * knowing how he likes talking, I expect it was kept secret even from him so as not to give things away.Mistermaumau07-04-2025
- Yes, but you have to take into account the order of interviews and the spread of knowledgeMistermaumau07-04-2025
- The truth is already out. Thats what the purpose of the testimony he gave was. Nevermind someone innocent would not have ruined so many lives in the process. If he somehow was ever allowed back in pro cycling or his records restored, not only would it be a travesty for Justice in sport, but it would be the end of cycling. Already done so much damage, and continues to by making stupid statements on his podcast to stay relevant. If he actually had any respect for the sport, or other people, he'd stop treating the world like fools and own his past and present. Not try and make up sob stories. Especially when all they do is highlight his entitlement and privilege.HoopoeChai07-04-2025
- "very sick" but only 3 antibiotic days? strange.maria2024202407-04-2025