Wout van Aert on Pogacar, Giro GC and 2024 crashes - "We all have to move up a gear compared to Tadej Pogacar"

Wout van Aert is a rider with a lot of ambitions, rivals and opinions. Hence when talking to the Belgian rider, there is always a lot to dissect. Before starting his season at the Clásica Jaen Paraiso Interior he talked about an unlucky 2024, how he sees the upcoming battle with Tadej Pogacar, the Giro d'Italia debut and more.

"I manage to get on my bike without any lingering issues, but it has cost me a lot of time this winter," van Aert said in a press conference ahead of the Clasica Jaen Paraiso Interior, as reported by In de Leiderstrui. "I have a passion for road cycling and want to win, so I would be unhappy if I no longer dared to throw myself down a descent. Diving downhill used to be exciting, but now it's more a part of my job. When I was 18, I also tried to take a KOM in a descent. I wouldn't do that now, either."

In 2024 he suffered two massive falls - one at the Dwars door Vlaanderen, the other during the Vuelta a España - which derailed his season completely. After coming second to riders like Tadej Pogacar and Mathieu van der Poel on many occasions it would be easy to lose the motivation, but this is not the case for the Belgian rider.

However, he certainly would like to see some safer racing and a 2025 campaign that is less decided by his falls. "Crashing is one thing, but suffering multiple fractures while crashing is another level. If we can work on safer races, where the consequences of a crash are less severe, that would be a great improvement".

With Jaén and the Volta ao Algarve, he hopes to open up his season with a win, and build towards the Opening Weekend where he will have some goals. Then an altitude camp before the final cobbled classics block - he will meet his two big rivals at the E3 Saxo Classic, Tour of Flanders, and potentially Paris-Roubaix if the World Champion makes the decision.

"I have been riding the Tour of Flanders since 2018, and from the first edition, I always thought I could win it one day. Is it ambition or obsession? Some people have created the idea that it is an obsession, but those have never been my words," he hits back. "If I said that I didn't care about Flanders and would just try something without further thought, how would you react?"

However he needs his absolute best level to finally take the win. Not only does he need to match and beat van der Poel, but this year a Pogacar too who in 2024 took a massive leap in performance. "We all have to move up a gear compared to Tadej Pogacar. I think he's raised the bar even higher, but that's how it goes every year; Jonas was better in 2023 than in 2022, and Pogacar was better again in 2024. So he will have to be better again in 2025 because we all keep improving."

Then comes the Giro d'Italia. With Olav Kooij aiming for the sprints and Simon Yates as the main climber, the Belgian's role will be somewhat open. He had already confirmed he wouldn't aim for pink jersey, but was asked nonetheless once again: "The Giro for the GC? That was a plan in the newspapers but not mine. And it never will be, definitely not," he assures. 

"We are going for a GC with Simon Yates, and Olav Kooij and I are going for stages. If I look at the route, there will be opportunities almost every day. There are many climbs through the low mountain range and the necessary flat stages. In the Giro, Simon has more of a free role to see how far he can go, and then we will see how much support he needs."