Wout van Aert to show off new time-trial position at the Tour de Suisse: "Larger riders have been given more space, so we experimented with that"

Jumbo-Visma's Wout van Aert makes his return to racing at the Tour de Suisse and in his time off the Belgian has been planning according to Jumbo-Visma performance manager Mathieu Heijboer.

"Since this year there have been new UCI rules in which slightly larger riders have been given more space, so we experimented with that," he tells Het Laatste Nieuws. “Two days after Paris-Roubaix, various tests were carried out on the track to see if we could still make a profit within the new time trial rules, combined with tests in the wind tunnel. Based on that, we changed the set-up of the steering wheel.”

The opening stage of the 2023 Tour de Suisse is a 12.6km time-trial so could van Aert threaten the likes of Remco Evenepoel for the stage win? “Above all, he wants to get through the Tour de Suisse well," says Hejiboer. "The goal is the Tour de France. If there is an opportunity to sprint in Switzerland, we will not fail to do so.”

The main reason for the time-trial position change however is looking forward to the World Championships in Glasgow. “We experimented with the position of the hands in relation to the elbows, the length of the extensions and how far the time trial handlebars can protrude. We also specifically looked at comfort,” says Heijboer. “The World Championship time trial is a big goal for Wout. Given that the race is now getting so long, it was a matter of looking for a position that Wout can maintain for longer.”