01/03/2023

"Wout will still want to win it and not come second or third" - Cancellara on how Wout van Aert may break Jumbo-Visma's winning tactics

Jumbo-Visma have entered the cobbled classics in the best form possible, taking impressive wins at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne. Whether they'll keep the same tactics or not with the entrance of Wout van Aert is a question for Fabian Cancellara.

"...For the rest of the Spring, he will be in the Jumbo-Visma team and that might change how they ride, too. It’s going to be very interesting when Jumbo have their top line-up together at the start, because that creates the luxury problem of who they’re going to ride for," Cancellara said in a Cyclingnews column. "Right now, they’re winning and that’s fun and nice. But they have another rider to come in who might take away some freedom of movement from Van Baarle and Tiesj, two riders who are themselves potential winners of Flanders."

Fabian Cancellara on Jumbo classics domination: "We’ll also have to wait and see what happens when Mathieu van der Poel, Tadej Pogačar and Julian Alaphilippe are all in the same race too"

In an extensive column, the former classics star has wondered if the Dutch team will continue to follow the same tactics which have brought them so much success in the Opening Weekend. Whilst the collective victories are the most important, Wout van Aert himself has quite a lot of pressure to perform in the monuments.

"Maybe they’ll go to the Tour of Flanders with just one leader, because Wout has been close before and it’s the race he really wants to win. Perhaps they’ll play the team card again, with multiple options," he continues. Although he has won Milano-Sanremo, the 28-year old has not yet been able to win the Tour des Flandres or Paris-Roubaix.

Tadej Pogacar on van Aert and van der Poel: "I don't think they are afraid of anyone in Flanders"

Last year everything seemed to fit but a Covid-19 infection right before Flandres took him out. He finished second at Roubaix, but winner Dylan van Baarle is now his teammate. He's specifically preparing his spring around those two races where he will finally look to break the curse.

"But either way, Wout will still want to win it and not come second or third, so even if there are team orders and even if there’s a lot of respect between all the riders, guys like Van Baarle and Tiesj might find themselves having to take a step back. It’s going to be challenging, but it’s also a nice, luxury problem for Jumbo to have," Cancellara believe.