"Wout once asked me for advice for Milano-Sanremo - and he won!" - Oliver Naesen may have played crucial role in Wout Van Aert's 2020 Milano-Sanremo title

Once one of the top classics riders in the world, the 34-year-old Oliver Naesen is not to be written off just yet. The experienced Belgian is always in the thick of action in the decisive moments of his favourite Flemish races and a podium is never too far off his reach.

Something he has in common with a Belgian superstar Wout van Aert, sometimes jokingly nicknamed 'Wout van Second' for his long list of runner-up results at the biggest events. But it may have been just thanks to Naesen's help that he managed to tick off at least one major box in 2019. "What I like about Wout is that he is so humble, despite the fact that he is so incredibly good," Naesen he begins at the VTM NIEUWS.

He then brings up a nice anecdote with the Belgian all-rounder. "Wout once asked me for advice for Milano-Sanremo. Can you believe it?! Such a rider... How to approach the race, where to shoot his arrows and where not, things like that. I gave him two or three tips, and he won that race. But certainly not thanks to me."

But it's still not the same Naesen that was rolling around before the COVID outbreak in 2020. Just before all the racing had stopped, Naesen was on top of his game. Having won the Bretagne Classic twice in previous years, he seemed ready to finally secure a major title. Those who expected this success would come on cobbled hills in Flanders couldn't be more wrong because Naesen nearly snatched a victory at the Milano-Sanremo 2019, losing only to Julian Alaphilippe at the time.

And so it's natural that the Visma | Lease a Bike rider approached his Decathlon AG2R compatriot for some tips. The 34-year-old wouldn't admit any contribution on Van Aert's 2020 triumph, but perhaps his insight was what tipped the scales in Van Aert's favor in a duel against, ironically, the same rider - Julian Alaphilippe - who defeated Naesen a year earlier.