Wout van Aert reveals Tour de France plan: "Now the focus is more on the green jersey"

Wout van Aert is heading into the Tour de France for another edition, and as expected his immense talent over several terrains and the strength of Jumbo-Visma lead to a debate on what his role will be. The Belgian has talked about what the idea is for the time being.

In an interview with HLN, van Aert, currently at Sierra Nevada training at altitude with the Tour block, has explained the plan for the coming weeks where the team will be tested at the Critérium du Dauphiné. “Most of the Tour team will be there, so it will be useful to see how well we are working as a unit and to take one last step towards the Tour. The Dauphiné is an important race and it's been a while since I've ridden it, and there are some hilly transition stages where there will probably be a sprint," he said.

Despite still having a support role planned, he admits that he will target his individual ambitions further. This isn't to say he hasn't had the freedom in the past - having won three stages last year all on different terrains - but he will be focusing on the green jersey specifically, something he hasn't done in the past despite being perfectly suited for it.

“That year [2021] I rode for the team, and I could now and then choose a stage to go for my own success. Now the focus is more on the green jersey, which I will have to work at every day. I'm going to have to take points in the intermediate sprints, that's new. Then I will need my rest in the mountains every now and then – a relative rest," he pointed out.

Outside of that, he'll help the team's ambitions to win the race, as both Primoz Roglic and Jonas Vingegaard head into the race to try and defeat Tadej Pogacar. Jumbo-Visma will have more strong support in the mountains though, so van Aert should have the freedom to take some days more conservatively - as he has, with some success, at Paris Nice. “It will be slightly different, but the further we go to the end of the Tour, the more the team can count on me as a helper," he assured.

He's also revealed that he will not be riding the World championships time-trial, where he's finished second over the last two years. He explains the reason: “We set a number of goals at the beginning of this year, and the road race is certainly one of them. It’s a goal. I learned last year that it's hard to focus on both."