Wuyts sees possible strategy for Visma | LaB against Van der Poel: "Maybe he'll collapse again"

It's almost time for the first Monument of the cycling season: Milan-Sanremo. The Italian spring classic will take place on Saturday, March 22, but former winner Wout van Aert won’t be at the start. Cycling analyst Michel Wuyts doesn’t understand his decision and expressed his disappointment in the Wuyts & Vlaeminck podcast.

Van Aert’s Milan-Sanremo victory dates back to 2020, when the race was postponed to early August due to the pandemic. Just like last year, Van Aert has chosen to skip the race, opting instead for a high-altitude training camp to be in top form for his main goals in early April: the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix.

Wuyts Regrets Van Aert’s Decision. Wuyts believes Van Aert has a better chance of winning Milan-Sanremo than he does in the cobbled classics. "It’s too late now, but I really wish Wout was racing the one race he can actually win. Have you seen his Milan-Sanremo record? Three podium finishes: one win, two third places, and the other two times he finished in the top ten. What more do you need?" Wuyts wonders why Van Aert wouldn’t give it another shot, knowing it’s a race that suits him perfectly. "Maybe he should start again at some point, realizing that this is the race that fits him best."

Read more below the photo.

Wout van Aert in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.

Wuyts: "Then why do you stay away?"

According to Michel Wuyts, the Milan-Sanremo course is perfectly suited to Wout van Aert, giving him multiple ways to win the race. "When it comes to Milan-Sanremo, Wout can attack explosively on the Poggio, and if he survives in a small group, he can finish it off in the sprint. Then why stay away?" Wuyts concluded. Van Aert will return to racing at the end of March, making his season debut on March 28 at the E3 Saxo Classic, a race often referred to as the mini Tour of Flanders.

In the cobbled classics, Mathieu van der Poel is expected to be one of the biggest challengers to Visma | Lease a Bike. Van Aert’s teammate Matteo Jorgenson recently told HLN that "the gap between Visma and Van der Poel has gotten smaller." The two-time Paris-Nice winner didn’t elaborate much on that statement but hinted that it had to do with Van der Poel’s wattage numbers.

Former Belgian national coach Sven Vanthourenhout, who also joined the podcast, expressed doubts about such an analysis. "When Van der Poel gets out of the saddle and accelerates, very few riders can match his effort. You can analyze it, but those are only power values from half a minute to a minute and a half." Wuyts pointed out that another versatile rider shares this explosive ability. "Tom Pidcock has that too. His numbers also shoot up when he gets out of the saddle."

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Can Visma | Lease a Bike contain Van der Poel?

Wuyts: "Maybe they want to lure Van der Poel into a trap"

For outsiders, it remains unclear what exactly fuels the confidence of Matteo Jorgenson and Visma | Lease a Bike. However, Michel Wuyts suspects it could have something to do with Van der Poel’s racing style. The former world champion often forces the race open early, sometimes attacking 60 or 70 kilometers from the finish. "Last year in the Tour of Flanders, Van der Poel was positioned perfectly by his teammates. Then, with just over 60 kilometers to go, he went solo. But in the final, he really started to struggle—he even admitted it himself," Wuyts explained. He believes Visma | Lease a Bike has likely analyzed this pattern and devised a strategy to exploit it. "Maybe they want to lure him out, knowing that if he attacks early again, he might collapse later. But will it actually play out that way?"

Read also

Week 11 for Wout van Aert, "problems" for Pogačar, and final preparations for Philipsen: How these Milan-Sanremo favorites spent their week

While his buddies suffer in the horror weather of Paris-Nice and Tirreno, Van Aert completes monster training in Tenerife

"The people who ruined me are paying a heavy price"; Wiggins back on track – thanks to Armstrong

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