After missing out on Strade Bianche to focus on Paris-Nice, two races separated by only one day, Wout van Aert has concluded from Tadej Pogacar's dominant performance that the Slovenian will be of high threat at the Tour de Flandres where he will be debuting this spring.
"It was impressive, there are no words for that. We have a new top favourite for the Ronde [Van Vlaanderen], surely?" Van Aert said, perhaps in an attempt to diverge the attention and pressure off him as the main classics block draws near. Over the last few years, due to his impressive quality in the classics and a strong sprint, van Aert has been hinted by many as the main favourite for many of the main classics and World championships, leaving him unable to win as he was heavily marked and attacked.
"In any case, I was already wary of him before the Tour. He has proven several times that he is more than a stage-racer and is also super strong in one-day races," he added. With Il Lombardia and Liège-Bastogne-Liège in his palmarès he has shown to have the legs for one-day races, and his Strade Bianche came as further evidence of his extreme talent, that prolongs well off just the climbs.
"It seemed like a close course, but with the first best attack he drives the rest off. He has not seen them again. Impressive," he concluded.
The Tour des Flandres takes place in the April 3rd and until then the pair are set to race against each other only at Milano-Sanremo, where Pogacar is likely to be placed amongst the main favourites aswell if he performs at the expected level at Tirreno-Adriatico. In the meantime Van Aert is racing Paris-Nice where Jumbo-Visma demolished the opening stage with the Belgian having an important role in Christophe Laporte's win.
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