La cara cruel del ciclismo 💔 Los gritos de dolor de Van Aert tras caerse y verse obligado a abandonar. #LaVuelta24 | #LaCasadelCiclismo
"Wout van Aert cannot be replaced... We will miss him. Remco Evenepoel too" - Belgian national coach sees World and European Championship plans scuppered by Vuelta crash
CyclingFriday, 06 September 2024 at 15:00
Things seemed to be looking very strong for the Belgians heading into the upcoming European and World Championships. With one nasty crash at the 2024 Vuelta a Espana however, national coach Sven Vanthourenhout's plans have been thrown into disarray.
"I cursed really hard," admits Vanthourenhout in conversation with Sporza about the moment Wout van Aert crashed out of the Spanish Grand Tour having slid out into a concrete wall on a wet and pacey descent earlier this week. "You immediately saw the seriousness of the situation, but the human side also came to the fore. You know Wout's story and then you think: not again? He had to fight hard to get back to the highest level and he succeeded, which is not easy. But now there is another one of those problems."
After having won three stages at the 2024 Vuelta a Espana and been nearing a historic double win of both the Points Classification and the King of the Mountains classification, Van Aert was looking somewhere close to his best. Vanthourenhout has spoken to his compatriot and as expected, Van Aert has taken the blow hard both mentally and physically. "To say he is disappointed is an understatement," says the Belgian national coach. "Wout also has a limit. We have no doubt that things will turn out well again, because that is typical of him. But you shouldn't take that for granted."
"It is difficult to accept as a national coach, because Wout has enormous added value on and off the bike. He cannot be replaced," Vanthourenhout continues. "In Limburg, he had to share leadership with the sprinters. Zurich would be on the limit, but look at Wout in the Vuelta: he could have come into his own there. We will miss him. Remco Evenepoel too, because they had grown closer in recent years. We saw that at the Games too. They really found each other and that will probably continue to be the case in the long run, but it is a shame that we have to miss Wout."
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- It's going to be a great fight! I hope JV gets there in shape, Pogi aswell! And, I hope the Giro wont be a goal, but the Vuelta instead. Let Wout do his Giro (or Jorgensen as GC he can still do the Tour after or the Vuelta) Then, JV and Pogi, will have a match in both the Tour and the Vuelta! (Given Pogi goes for the Tour-Vuelta this time)Stitz08-11-2024
- Dumb and dumber...two of the worst cycling commentators to listen too ! Roll sounds like he's going through puberty half the time with his comments.frieders308-11-2024
- Il faut une enquête antidopage complète sur (au moins) PogacarFredoFredo07-11-2024
- Le mec était hyper chargéFredoFredo07-11-2024
- Ca continue avec l'équipe UAEFredoFredo07-11-2024
- C'est Evenepoel qui a gagné cette courseFredoFredo07-11-2024
- the “cloud of shame” thing has a lot to do with the cycling world’s REACTION to a doped rider, not simply whether or not they doped. merckx got caught over and over, but clearly no cloud of shame affixed by cycling culture to him. same with countless tdf champions and other legends i won’t list again at risk of belaboring the point.OCexile07-11-2024
- He was supposed to race Tour + Vuelta, but since Pogacar and Vingegaard are going there, he changed to Giro + Tour (just to try to win the yellow jersey at the 1st week and the ITT probably). Against Roglic he has a bit more chances in Italy. Press will consider him as the favourite anyways, as usual. Other contenders not to underestimate will be Ayuso and Jorgenson. Now he's just waiting to see how many kilometers the ITTs will have. to formalize his participation.Acapulco07-11-2024
- Oh look. CUD leans into another doper for commentary. Hey guys - there are other people to talk to... You know... people who didn't leave the sport in a cloud of shame...critguy07-11-2024
- Its results will mainly depend on him, though.Acapulco07-11-2024