Wout van Aert was in growing form during the Tour de France but hit the
Olympic Games with a stunning performance that earned him a surprising medal in the time-trial. The Belgian may have timed his training perfectly for the races in Paris and he will aim for gold, but has
Mathieu van der Poel in mind as a clear rival for the Belgian team.
“It is a bit like I had imagined. A lot of people of course, but actually quite well organized. It is cool to meet a lot of other athletes," van Aert shared with Wielerflits regarding his presence in the Olympic village. "It is also surprising how many other athletes recognized Remco and me. I really hadn't thought about that. That is cool.”
The Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider and his teammates Remco Evenepoel, Tiesj Benoot and Jasper Stuyven already explored the key parts of this Saturday's race and admits that the distance will make it harder than it looks like on the profile. “That was more difficult than I thought. The other climbs were a bit easier than I thought. The final loop is a bit easier than I had imagined anyway. After such a long race of more than 270 kilometers, you can make the difference on the climb of Montmartre, but also in other places.”
Montmartre, the cobbled and final ascent in the final circuit, is eyed by many as a key point of the race. But he denies that it can be compared to the ascents that are tackled in the Tour of Flanders. “That climb in Paris is not super steep, but it does continue for a long time. I understand Remco's comparison with the Oude Kwaremont, although it is very different…”
Van Aert has raced the Tour de France but he doesn't report the fatigue of other riders, and confirms that despite racing the time-trial on Saturday he has been able to continuously work towards the road race where his main ambitions lied from the start. “I recovered quickly from the time trial and have been able to train well in the past few days. Everything went according to plan. Whether I am better than last Saturday is difficult to say.”
The Belgians have a tremendously strong team and very real goal of victory for tomorrow's race, but van Aert is keen on naming his main rival as the man to beat: “For me, Mathieu van der Poel is the only top favorite. I somewhat disagree with Remco here, but that is allowed. When you look at the one-day races of the past few years, he really stands out. I expect him to do just as well here as in the other races he has won.”
However, despite expectations of a chaotic race, van Aert doesn't believe there will be an underdog victory in Trocadero. However that is because of a very specific factor: “We cannot speak of a surprise, because we will start with ninety men and fifty of them are super good riders".
