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Team Visma | Lease a Bike often claimed the lack of pressure heading into the cyclocross season, however after several direct defeats and second places, there was some disappointment and frustration. This wasn't completely unexpected, but it was not the most motivating signs ahead of a spring where van Aert looks to win a cobbled monument.
"We started with a different approach, and I am the first to admit that it was not always easy to put aside those expectations and look at the bigger picture. We did continue to do that, and in the past two weeks, we have worked hard," he tells. "It was nice to now see the results of that in the race. However, there are still two months left until the most important races, and I will need that time."
Van Aert's priority remains the road season and the spring classics. Hence, it was a good and motivating victory for the rider who will now leave the CX bike back in the garage for a few months. “I went on vacation when Mathieu already started to train, and if you have to face the best rider in the world after that... You shouldn't think that with three or four weeks less training, you can just pick up the gauntlet," he explains.
"Everyone has seen the level he reached. It doesn't matter how badly people want it, but there is no room for fairy tales in those circumstances. Then it's just logical that you can't compete. Now we're a few weeks down the line and it's already a bit better, and soon we'll start the spring season that we are now working towards. Hopefully, it will also work out then. That's what we're training and working hard for."