“Remco and I have always had respect for each other. The issues of last year were something that should not have happened in the media. I was quickly over it and I don’t see any problem with working together. I think we both learned from it," van Aert said however. Evenepoel will be racing the individual time-trial, and has said that if his form isn't the best he would work for van Aert. The route should favour the
Jumbo-Visma rider, having a flat sprint that benefits riders like him, after the hilly section of the course.
Last year there was a lot of discussion around Belgium's tactics, to a point where the team blew their chances after being put in a position of men to beat - at home in Leuven. This year however the circuit is very different, and “it's better to have Remco as a co-leader and to race together instead," van Aert argued. "That's something we for sure learned as a team and I think can make all the difference this year. Remco is not fast in a sprint but he can attack from afar. I can maybe wait a bit more and also have a good chance in a smaller group.”
The 27-year old is travelling to Australia soon, and has commented on the circuit that the riders will face: “It sounds really familiar to what we know in Belgium and the Classics. I think I’ve proved I'm really strong on kicker climbs like that and so that’s good for my confidence. It’ll still be a super hard race and I think we have a super strong team. We can race to our own strengths.”
“I feel I’m still improving year on year, not only in my experience but also how I get into the best shape possible. I keep building on the base year on year. I think I’ve improved a lot in the final hour of the tough 250km races. That was a weakness but I’ve made some changes in training and it’s worked out," he argued. That will be critical, as the route to Wollongong features over 4000 meters of climbing and a whole 267 kilometers in distance.