Wout van Aert: "I will ride this year's Tour in a different way than last year, because then I was no longer human the following week"

Wout van Aert has ended his spring campaign at Paris-Roubaix, ever since taking such much needed rest from competition, and beginning his preparation for the Tour de France. Atop Mount Teide with Jumbo-Visma, He's talked about the upcoming Grand Boucle, where he will not aim at the green jersey.

“I will ride this year's Tour in a different way than last year, because then I was no longer human the following week," Wout van Aert said in an interview with Wieler Revue. "If you finish the Tour in a normal way, you can get better. But last year was so very tough. The focus will now be more on stage victories and less on the green jersey."

Dylan van Baarle has revealed that earlier in the week, the Belgian confirms it himself. With the World Championships afterwards he will use the Tour as preparation, taking a lighter approach to the race as he looks to support Jonas Vingegaard and the team's GC ambitions, alongside chasing stage wins when possible. Last year he dominated the points classification, but as he reports he was completely burnt after the race and can't replicate the same goal this year if he wants the rainbow stripes.

“It will already make a huge difference to know that two weeks later another goal awaits," van Aert admits. "The mindset in Paris will be very different, but I can also win in mountain stages. I'm not going to let that go."