Wout van Aert on Liège-Bastogne-Liège chances: "I believe I can do something here"

Wout van Aert will be at the start of Liège-Bastogne-Liége as a leader for Jumbo-Visma, and will be one of the main candidates for the fourth monument of the season. He has talked to reporters yesterday after a recon ride of this year's route.

“Although it was a bit of a shock when I noticed that the Walloon roads are in even worse shape than the Flemish ones. It was a tricky recon, but that's no surprise. I train a lot here and I already knew the climbs. It's interesting to explore the final, to see how fast you are at the finish," Van Aert told Het Nieuwsblad.

After a Covid-19 infection days before the Tour des Flandres, the Belgian champion's plans were changed for the spring, causing him to still focus on the final weekend of the spring campaign, where he will targeting Liège-Bastogne-Liège. With Primoz Roglic absent due a knee injury, van Aert should be the sole team leader, with the support of the likes of Jonas Vingegaard and Tiesj Benoot. 

This Thursday, Jumbo-Visma did a recon of the route, where van Aert has openly talked about the experience: “The most interesting thing was the descent towards the finish, which I didn't know yet. It's a beautiful finale. You'll be there soon after the last descent. If you don't make it to the top of the Roche aux Faucons, there will be no turning back. Whether that slope is the tipping point of the course? Yes. It usually explodes there, but you have to get there of course. Many have already been driven off before. Trying to follow will be hard enough," he said.

He just came off a strong second place at Paris-Roubaix, and has detailed that between races there has been very little action: “After Roubaix I took two rest days. Wednesday and today I completed two good training sessions to maintain my condition. It is a great opportunity. It will be good in the future that I have already raced here," he says, as he is set to make his debut in the Belgian classic. 

Whether he believes or not in the possibility of winning it, he leaves the question relatively open: “I give myself a small chance of winning and a good chance of a good result. I believe I can do something here, otherwise I wouldn't start."