Wout van Aert expresses ambition and chuckles at 'made-up' words: "What would you say?"

Wout van Aert is about to start his 2025 road season. The Belgian will take on this challenge in the Spanish gravel race Clasica Jaén two weeks after finishing second in the cyclo-cross World Championships. He will travel via the Algarve to the opening weekend before hitting altitude towards his big goals for this spring: Flanders and Roubaix. On the media day of his team Visma | Lease a Bike, Van Aert took considerable time to look ahead to his road season.

When Van Aert starts the Clasica Jaén in Spain on Monday, he will probably be able to leave the problematic 2024 season behind him for good. That ended in September with a crash, after he had already missed several months of cycling after that terrible crash in Dwars door Vlaanderen. "I manage to get on my bike without any lingering issues, but it has cost me a lot of time this winter," he answers honestly.

"It's on my mind much more than it used to be, but that's also because you have a completely different life now than when you were 20," the Belgian explains. "I have a passion for road cycling and want to win, so I would be unhappy if I no longer dared to throw myself down a descent. Diving downhill used to be exciting, but now it's more a part of my job. When I was 18, I also tried to take a KOM in a descent. I wouldn't do that now, either."

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Van Aert hopes things will be a bit easier in 2025

Yet he realizes that 2024 was a kind of extreme. "Crashing is one thing, but suffering multiple fractures while crashing is another level. If we can work on safer races, where the consequences of a crash are less severe, that would be a great improvement," he says, looking at external areas for improvement. Internally, he started working on this differently. "Personally, after that crash in Dwars door Vlaanderen last year, I felt I had slipped up several times without realizing it. I made mistakes, was unfocused, and lacked confidence. We have been trying to work on that."

"We have looked into mental coaching and concentration training," explains Van Aert. "I certainly believe in it and will work hard at it. But after the two crashes with serious consequences last year, I am completely convinced I couldn't prevent them, so I hope things will go a bit more my way;" the Visma | Lease a Bike team leader brings it back to the essence.

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"It's always a bit annoying to talk about last year"

Okay, let's move on to 2025. Van Aert will start in Clasica Jáen. "Last year was not the best experience because I had a flat tire, and many gravel sections were removed. It is perfect to combine with Algarve for a good first week of racing, but a gravel race like this always makes my heart beat a little faster. It is a beautiful region, and we can ride in all sectors."

Next up is the Opening Weekend, in which he was able to win Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne in 2024. Van Aert will then head to altitude with Tiesj Benoot and others, which means that for the second year in a row, he will not be seen in Strade Bianche, Tirreno-Adriatico, Paris-Nice, or Milan-Sanremo. "I didn't have any doubts about my program. I immediately indicated that I would like to use the same approach. I came third in the E3 Saxo Classic but felt tired after that training camp. I still felt excellent in the run-up to Dwars door Vlaanderen and the race."

"It's always a bit annoying to talk about last year," Van Aert points out on his initiative. "People come up with lines like 'we were so good' and 'we couldn't make it happen,' but that's exactly why I want to try again. Per (Strand Hagenes, ed.) crashed immediately in E3 and broke his nose. Tiesj also crashed there, and my story is also known. That was a bad return on investment," he adds.

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Big goals remain intact for Van Aert

"With the classic team, we now have two approaches. Guys who peak in February and then do a very long block of races starting with the Opening Weekend. And then there are a few guys – me, Dylan Tiesj – who peak a little later and want to be at their best in Flanders and Roubaix," says Van Aert, who also explains the division of roles. "We have a similar team. Strengthened in the sense that young guys like Per have improved a bit. I expect to see progress from them. We are starting the same way, with me as one of the leaders. There will be races in which I will have to play my cards right, but also races in which we can ride together in the final."

The big goals remain the same: the Tour and Roubaix. "I have been riding the Tour of Flanders since 2018, and from the first edition, I always thought I could win it one day. Is it ambition or obsession? Some people have created the idea that it is an obsession, but those have never been my words. If I said that I didn't care about Flanders and would just try something without further thought, how would you react?" he said to the journalists in La Nucia.

"It is a normal ambition for a rider like me, who has already won many other classics," continued the outspoken Belgian. "I continue to believe in it, which keeps me hungry daily. If I succeed, it will be a huge relief. If I fail, I will also have been able to enjoy the fact that I am chasing my dreams."

Then there is the Pogacar factor, which, unlike in 2024, will be back in the spring. "We all have to move up a gear compared to Tadej Pogacar. I think he's raised the bar even higher, but that's how it goes every year; Ionas was better in 2023 than in 2022, and Pogacar was better again in 2024. So he will have to be better again in 2025 because we all keep improving."

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Van Aert rules out Giro d'Italia for GC

This means he is opting for the same approach he took last year. "It makes sense to prepare for the spring with the same approach. By skipping other major races in March, it can also be combined with the Giro. Then there's the Tour. So it will be a busy year until July," says Van Aert. "So, for me, it was logical to try again, and then the Giro came into the picture quite quickly. So we only had to discuss how to deal with the Tour. Last year, I felt that the Tour-Vuelta combination suited me well, so I certainly wouldn't be disappointed if I didn't do well in the Giro."

Don't expect a complete copy-paste. "We will be doing some new things. But it's not good to want to change everything every year either', says Van Aert, who is known as a rider who likes to try new things and competitions. 'The Giro is a competition that I have wanted to do well in for several years, and hopefully, I can now get to the start. Something as bold as starting in Albania would be cool to enter a country I have never been to by bike."

A stage race that, according to the experts, suits him. "The Giro for the GC? That was a plan in the newspapers but not mine. And it never will be, definitely not. We are going for a GC with Simon Yates, and Olav Kooij and I are going for stages. If I look at the route, there will be opportunities almost every day. There are many climbs through the low mountain range and the necessary flat stages. In the Giro, Simon has more of a free role to see how far he can go, and then we will see how much support he needs."

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Van Aert has World Championships in Africa in mind

Subsequently, the Tour is on the agenda, a race he wasn't planning in 2024 but ended up doing after all. "I'm not tired of the Tour. The Olympics were a big goal, and I wanted to prepare for that without the Tour, so that was the reason. The Tour remains the biggest race, and I know what it means to win there. The green jersey will not be a goal, but many stages should suit me. As a team, we also want to support and launch Jonas so that it will be dual-purpose," Van Aert explains.

Like the Grande Partenza Albania, the World Championships in Rwanda also give Van Aert a real buzz. "That also goes for Rwanda, although it will be difficult there. It is in the back of my mind, but I think it makes sense to see where my energy levels are after the Tour. Rwanda is a World Championships that suits me, but the race will be pointless if I already feel I have used up all my energy in August. That call has yet to be made."

"I would love to be there, and I have already spoken to Serge Pauwels about it," Van Aert explains. "I feel that he has confidence in my chances and the added value I can bring, so there's no doubt about that. But it's also at altitude and a tough course, so I'd like to prepare for that. And I still have to be up for it," he logically states after the busy period that awaits him in the first months of 2025.

Read also

"Tadej just had his breakfast," says Alaphilippe, who shares his opinion as the Pogacar of his time: "It makes me sad"

Fourth last year in the Tour of Flanders, but now back as domestique: "Pogačar isn't afraid of Van der Poel or Van Aert"

Does Kuss lose his role as Vingegaard's lieutenant to a teammate? "To make the difference, you need riders like him"

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