Wout van Aert’s risky move: Aggressive racing, no time trials and all-in on the road race championships

We won’t see Wout van Aert in the individual time trial at the World Championships in Zurich, the Belgian rider from Visma | Lease a Bike has confirmed to HLN. Van Aert wants to use the Vuelta a España to prepare optimally for the European and World Championships, where he will only compete in the road races.

The Visma star is back to his best form after a challenging 2024 season filled with setbacks. His crash in Dwars door Vlaanderen and the long recovery from multiple fractures threw his season into disarray. This meant no Giro d'Italia, no specific preparation for the Olympic time trial in Paris, and he instead focused on the Tour de France and Vuelta a España to still find his best form for the autumn.

So far, this strategy is paying off. Van Aert won two sprints in the opening week of the Vuelta but truly impressed in the second week with a stage victory in a tough mountain stage. These were his second, third, and fourth wins of the year, following his earlier victory in Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne in the spring. His aggressive racing style was also evident in stage 12 on Thursday, although he didn’t make the breakaway. "I tried to get into the break, but I didn’t have the acceleration to make the jump. Once back in the peloton, I was able to save my energy for the upcoming stages," he said in a press release from Visma | Lease a Bike.

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Van Aert aims for aggressive approach at European and World Championships

His attacking style promises much for the championships in September. The European Championships in Belgium and the World Championships in Switzerland are two major goals for Van Aert, who is even willing to skip the time trials. "After the Vuelta, my focus will be on the road race at the European Championships in Limburg and the road race at the World Championships in Zurich. In our opinion, adding the World Championship time trial in between would be too much. That might sound strange, considering it’s a three-week period, but from a training perspective, including a time trial is completely different," he explained.

In the three weeks following the Vuelta, Van Aert prefers to fine-tune his preparation in his quest for the rainbow jersey. "After the Vuelta, I want to focus a 100% to be in the best possible shape. That’s more than enough after such a tough and busy summer." Therefore, we won’t see him in the time trial at the European Championships either. "The European Championship time trial doesn’t fit into my schedule as it takes place on the Wednesday right after the Vuelta. Competing there and knowing in advance that I would lose to Ganna, that doesn’t appeal to me. Plus, there’s not enough time to be in top form for the World Championship time trial after the Vuelta."