Wout Van Aert is not worried about tension with Kooij in the Giro, but concerned about Pogacar: "They've already adjusted the first stage"

Olav Kooij and Wout van Aert, heading to the Giro d'Italia representing Visma | Lease a Bike. A magical duo, evidenced by their collective five (!) stage wins and overall victory in the 2023 Tour of Britain. There, everything went smoothly, and the rewards were evenly shared, but what will happen in the Giro? What will be the role distribution? And what if Kooij is so strong that he's still in the mix when Van Aert thinks it's his turn to strike? IDLProCycling.com spoke extensively with the two main characters and their coach Mathieu Heijboer. This is their 'Plan Giro d'Italia'!

Having Kooij and Van Aert together for the Giro is not so surprising. Kooij extended his contract in 2023 with a promise to make his debut in a Grand Tour in 2024. Since Visma | Lease a Bike aims to compete for the general classification in the Tour de France (Jonas Vingegaard) and Vuelta a España (Sepp Kuss and...?), the Giro remained. A race with sprint stages, challenging transitional stages, and two demanding time trials. A playground for riders aiming for stage wins.

Listening closely, it's clear that Kooij will take on the pure bunch sprints. "Wout has been less involved in pure bunch sprints since the green jersey in the 2022 Tour. I think at the highest speed, I have a bit more top speed," says the Dutchman. In those stages, Van Aert would serve as a lead-out, like Mathieu van der Poel did for Jasper Philipsen in the 2023 Tour. "A perfect lead-out, absolutely. I couldn't wish for a better one. We've actually raced together very little, but when we do, it almost always goes well. We won't race much together leading up to the Giro, but in the race, we'll feel each other out. Wout has the physical capacity to maintain an overview in the finals and, for example, to push through the wind again," Kooij adds.

When it gets tougher in stages and finals, that's when Van Aert comes into the picture, as the calculation goes. "There will be plenty of stages suited for Wout. I count about five or six sprint chances that are interesting for me. Wout also wins on the Ventoux and in time trials, so there are still many stages where he has opportunities," Kooij comments. Van Aert agrees: "There are many interesting stages. We have Olav for the bunch sprints and me when it gets a bit tougher. This way, we will have many chances to win stages."

Heijboer, tasked with preparing both men for the Giro, knows well where Kooij's domain typically ends and Van Aert's begins. "We've already looked closely at the stages and made an analysis, noting that there are a number of relatively easy sprints and some stages where the sprint group might be smaller. We're going to figure this out in detail, but we see a lot of opportunities for both."

So far, the division makes sense, but in practice, things don't always go as planned on paper. The 2023 Tour was an excellent example. Van der Poel rode with excellent legs, but since Philipsen also survived tough finals, it was more often the Belgian from Alpecin-Deceuninck who ended up winning. A role Van der Poel is at peace with, and one Van Aert will also accept. "If Olav survives a climb and we can sprint with him, then our chance of winning will be greater than if we were to sprint with me in a smaller group. As long as we win as a team, it doesn't matter who wins. The better Olav climbs, the better it will be for the team. We start the Giro with a good plan, but a strong Olav would be an advantage," he states confidently.

Kooij also relies on the strong communication within Visma | Lease a Bike. "This team makes clear internal plans, and we believe in them. We look at them together and agree on them. We aim for the highest possible achievement and as a team, you look at what the biggest chance is to score in certain stages. That will depend on the stage." Heijboer nods when we present him with these quotes. "To now speculate on the possibility that Olav climbs well is looking quite far ahead… The main thing is that Olav and Wout are very satisfied with the role distribution and how we handle things."

A potential storm from Belgium, should Kooij get to sprint in more stages than expected, is mostly met with laughter. "You can do little right regarding Wout in Belgium, so if we have to take that into account," Heijboer winks. Van Aert gives a more serious answer: "There are two things in this team: you never ride a race thinking it's all about you. I don't want that at all. And secondly, you never ride a Grand Tour in this team with a weak team. There are always strong men who can bring you to the final and control the race. And then it's an honor for both me and Olav to be leaders of such a team."

"While there's a lot of speculation about 'what ifs,' the partnership between Kooij and Van Aert has already shown promising results. Their synergy was on full display during the Tour of Britain, where Van Aert executed four impeccable lead-outs and Kooij cleverly created an opening in the final for his Belgian teammate's victory. "The Tour of Britain was a testament to their excellent teamwork. There was a fantastic synergy between them, with Wout finding joy in assisting Olav, and Olav skillfully springing surprises - a testament to his strategic acumen. There's no tension there at all," Heijboer elaborates.

Van Aert says he also enjoyed that week in Great Britain, where he won a stage and the overall classification. "We tried it in the Tour of Britain and it went quite well. The Giro will be on a whole other level, but on the days we ride for Olav, the whole team will support him. The same applies to the stages that suit me. I don't know if the Tour of Britain was a try-out for the team. I've been talking about the Giro in 2024 for a while, but everything came together in various meetings."

Kooij suspects that the Tour of Britain indeed gave the green light to eventually go ahead with this plan. 'We enjoyed that week then. If it had all gone wrong, maybe things would look different now. I think it contributed. And it wasn't a surprise for me and the team that Wout wanted to skip the Tour once and seek a different challenge. With the Giro course – and the Tour of Britain, where we rode for stage wins – the choice wasn't strange. It's customary here to evaluate the season in September and October. Shortly after, plans are made for the new season. In mid-November, the first thoughts about the Giro and my perspective on it were shared with me. During the first training camp in December, the program for the first part of the year was announced. So, I've been aware for a while."

Now that everyone at Visma | Lease a Bike is aligned, the challenge is to forge a cohesive team for the Giro, which will be a bit different. "The Tour team enters a joint trajectory in the last months before the Tour, while the Giro team will be racing more separately," explains Kooij. "There will be a group training at altitude for the Giro and another group that won’t. I won’t be training at altitude; I’ll probably go to Spain with Wout, Edoardo Affini, and Jan Tratnik. So, the preparation will look different. My focus is on the sprints, so we can tailor my preparation differently. The team building will come closer to the Giro."

With Affini and Tratnik, two domestiques are already known, and you can add Robert Gesink and Wilco Kelderman to the list. Cian Uijtdebroeks will also aim for a classification, though without pressure and in a free role. Kooij believes it's an ideal mix. "That’s why I preferred the Giro. It's a great race to make your Grand Tour debut, especially since we're targeting the general classification in the Tour and the Vuelta. The Giro offers more opportunities to really go for stage wins. With Primoz (Roglic, ed.) in 2023, we were always aiming for the classification, but now we won't have the top favorite in our team. Although Cian could ride a good classification."

Visma | Lease a Bike, in principle, stays clear of serious GC ambitions in the Giro, especially now that Tadej Pogacar has announced his participation. The Slovenian could become an additional factor in Van Aert’s ambitions. Pogacar won’t compete in bunch sprints, but punchy finishes certainly suit him. "I saw that they've already adjusted the first stage. They added a steep climb in the last five kilometers, and two days later, it was announced that Pogacar is riding. So, it’ll be tough to beat him there," Van Aert also noticed the Pogacar effect. Heijboer acknowledges that it will be harder for Van Aert to win. "Wout is very fast at the finish, but so is Pogacar. We’re getting a very strong competitor in our goal to win stages. His GC ambitions don’t interfere with ours, but he is a major rival for stage wins. But if you win, it’s even more satisfying."