Belgian superstar Wout van Aert has an unenviable record. He has finished second on numerous occasions in very important races such as the World Championship, stages of the Tour de France, Paris-Roubaix or the Tour of Flanders means that his palmares is much less successful than it could be.
Over the years, the Jumbo-Visma rider has proven to be a versatile and competitive cyclist, able to face the most demanding challenges that elite cycling has to offer. He has been able to win on very diverse terrain, but also to hit the pole time and time again.
Here is a list of the most important cycling events in which Wout van Aert has achieved second place in his career:
- World Championship (Road) - x2
- World Championship (Individual Time Trial) - x2
- Olympic Games (Road)
- European Championship (Road)
- Tour de France (Stage) - x8
- Paris-Roubaix
- Tour of Flanders
- Tirreno-Adriatico
- E3 Saxo Classic
- Gent-Wevelgem
This impressive list of second-place finishes is a testament to the palmarès that Wout van Aert could have. If he'd had a little more luck, he could already retire as one of the best ever. While the Belgian rider undoubtedly longs for the top step of the podium, his ability to consistently stay at the top of his sport is an accomplishment in itself.
The fact that he has been able to win on terrain as different as Mont Ventoux, a flat time trial or a cobbled classic seems to make him less effective in the final meters in tight sprints with big rivals. Nor does it work in his favor to go to the Tour de France every year as a gregario. He should reconsider his Mathieu van der Poel-style calendar if he wants to add to his already magnificent palmarès.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- What a race! I didn't expect Vanthourenhout to collapse like that, and Wyseure did take the fight to Nys, but there was no doubt at the end. I also wonder what Aubin Sparfel would be capable of were he to race in the elites now. In the U23 ranks he is making good work of Giel Lejeune, who himself is among the better riders in the elites, and a top 10 contender in the big races (3rd at Kleebergcross, 8th at Berencross and 5th at Heerderstrand). In the French Cup, Sparfel is significantly better than Romain Debord (8th at Koppenbergcross and 10th at the Euros) and Rémi Lelandais (12th at Koppenbergcross and 19th at the Euros).
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
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#EuroRoad23 Victoria agónica de Laporte 😱 yyyyyy otro triplete de Jumbo 🐝 🏆 Cristophe Laporte 🇫🇷 🥈 Wout Van Aert 🇧🇪 🥉 Olav Kooij 🇳🇱 Laporte arrancó a 12km de meta. Llegó a tener 11", y cuando Van Aert parecía que le superaba al sprint se quedó sin gas. Impresionante final
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