Wout van Aert has had a roller-coaster of a season. Changing his schedule completely, he approached the cobbled classics with a new preparation, but a crash at Dwars door Vlaanderen saw him out of the monuments and the Giro d'Italia. Now finally, the Belgian ends up racing the Tour de France once again, but this time around with the Olympic Games well in mind.
"I am especially happy that I am back, right in the biggest race of the year. Everyone knows what a tough year it has been for me. It is also difficult for me to express the right expectations," van Aert told Wielerflits ahead of the race. "What is certain is that I am starting here in the worst form of all the Tours that I have ever ridden, so that gives me a bit of a strange feeling. Of course, the form is good enough, we have worked very hard in the last few months to get to this level."
Van Aert sustained serious injuries but these did not keep him off the bike for as long as teammates Jonas Vingegaard. The Belgian raced the Tour of Norway in late May and then decided ultimately that he wanted to race the Tour, as an alternative to his initial schedule. Team Visma | Lease a Bike managers were more than happy to provide him with a spot in the lineup, which has been built around Jonas Vingegaard with whom he spent three weeks at altitude recently in the French Alps.
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“The form is not what I am used to. It is really a matter of waiting and seeing what this level will be worth in the Tour," van Aert continues. "But I can be of value to my team Visma | Lease a Bike in any case. Probably more during the flatter stages, but if my legs improve, possibly also – if that proves necessary – on the tougher days. That is also necessary to find opportunities for myself, let that be clear.”
Van Aert abandoned the Tour early last year, partly to focus on the World Championships that followed soon after, where he showed brilliant legs and rode to second. He's hoping to have a similar run-up to the Olympic Games this year.
“The Games are a big goal for me, both the time trial and the road race. I believe that due to the circumstances following my crash in the spring, riding the Tour is the best decision with a view to the Games. But of course also to race here. This is not a race in which you can prepare yourself for other goals.”
High ambitions for the team, but van Aert mainly settles into a domestique role for now. “Hopefully we will arrive in Nice healthy and well, after a great Tour with the team. After that, I will have to make the switch to the Games very quickly. In any case, I am proud of myself for the work I have done in the last two months, to return to this level. It was a fine balance between rehabilitation and good training. But how and whether I can show myself in the Tour, is difficult to predict.”
The points classification, which he has won back in 2022, seems to not be part of his ideas, with compatriot Jasper Philipsen being the man to beat. “I hope to be competitive, whether that is in the sprints or other stages. Last weekend I also tried to sprint during the Belgian road championship, but that did not work out well. You really have to be in top form if you want to mix in that. With a great but tough opening weekend, I immediately know what is possible and especially what is not possible."
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