Wout van Aert has never been the most exuberant personality in the peloton, but on Friday afternoon, speaking to the press ahead of the Tour of Flanders, the Visma-Lease a Bike rider was perhaps even more reserved and calm than ever.
Just two days after the team's fairly obvious failure in Dwars door Vlaanderen, the Belgian had to face up to reporters who have been critical of him and his team's racing and results for the last week.
Van Aert fielded questions about why exactly he had bad legs and cramp on Wednesday, whether he might sacrifice himself for a stronger teammate on Sunday, and whether he can actually compare to Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogačar. He batted each away calmly, not defensive but realistic and assured.
Given his last week, and the competition that awaits him on Sunday, Van Aert naturally wasn't in a position to be bullish, but that doesn't mean he was pessimistic.
"My confidence was certainly not affected on Wednesday; in fact, the opposite," he said. "I am here with more confidence than last week. I felt much better than in the previous races."
In the end, it was the combination of making the wrong tactical choice and cramps in the final that cost Van Aert in Dwars door Vlaanderen, but he was clear that he wasn't lingering on what had happened.
"Two days later, I feel much better again," he said. "We had a group debriefing about the race in the evening, but this time it took a bit longer, of course. We made mistakes that we can't make again. But from Thursday morning, we were already looking ahead.”
Of course, what the team are looking ahead to is a much bigger challenge than trying to beat Neilson Powless. On Sunday, Van Aert and Visma will be up against the two riders touted by many as practically the only two riders worth considering in Flanders, Van der Poel and Pogačar. Van Aert was realistic about his chances against them.
"You'll need a lot to be up there with them," he said. "They're clearly two big favourites. They showed a lot in San Remo and the other races, so I hope to feel my best legs on Sunday and to be up there with them."
Van der Poel and Pogačar will be gunning, respectively, for their fourth and second titles in Oudenaarde, whilst Van Aert, once Belgium's prodigal son, is yet to take a single win in the Monument he covets the most. Whilst the Belgian media may be hyper-focused on Sunday and the following week's Paris-Roubaix, Van Aert batted any suggestion that he was consumed by this one race.
"It is not an obsession," he said. "I have said that many times. It is a big goal, as it is for many other riders."
Even if Wout van Aert never wins Flanders, or never again at all, he would still end his career as a winner of multiple Belgian Classics, Milan-San Remo, Strade Bianche, numerous Tour de France stages, and more. But just like that doesn't satisfy the baying Belgian media, his previous achievements seem to be little consolation for the 30-year-old either.
"Of course I feel extremely proud of my achievements in my career so far, but in the end, two days before the Tour of Flanders or before a big race, it doesn't help me to look back to what I've already achieved, you just look at what's coming," he said. If the question is how I look back, I've already achieved more than I ever thought was possible.
Whether he thinks winning Flanders on Sunday, or ever, is possible is still up for debate, and he was careful not to give away too much of his true feelings on Friday evening. Given his results so far this spring, it's hard to say this is his best chance at winning, but with riders like Tiesj Benoot, Matteo Jorgenson and Dylan van Baarle around him, Visma-Lease a Bike do believe they have one of the strongest
"I think Flanders is a pretty honest race, and for me a strong team is really important in a hard race, obviously," Van Aert's teammate Jorgenson added, sitting quietly through most of the press conference as the room aimed their questions at the Belgian, not the American who showed signs of promise in Flanders last year.
"I do think we are one of the strongest teams on the start line, but I think it's a very honest race in Flanders, and usually the best rider wins."
The biggest thing is to not use that strength in the wrong way again. What have Van Aert and the team learn from Wednesday, and will they avoid the same mistake on Sunday? Sports director Grischa Niermann summed it up pretty succinctly.
"When Tiesj, Matteo and Wout are going to go to the finish with Mathieu on Sunday, I will tell them to attack."
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