Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) has significantly played down expectations for his sixth straight start in the Tour de France, saying that while happy to be taking part, his form is in no way close to what he would like.
The 29-year-old Belgian champion has won nine stages of the Tour so far in his career. Perhaps no other rider has done so on such varied terrain in recent years, ranging from time trials to bunch sprints to a solo win on a mountain stage in 2021 that included a double ascent of the much-feared Mont Ventoux.
But after a difficult first half of the season that saw him crash badly at Dwars door Vlaanderen and miss out on his initial objective of a Giro d’Italia debut, Van Aert said on Thursday that he is not setting a high bar for himself at the Tour. However, he also recognised he was happy merely to have made it to the Grand Départ at Firenze, such have been the challenges he experienced in the first half of 2024.
"This year has been tough for me up to now,” Van Aert told reporters. "So unfortunately, I can’t have the same objectives as other seasons in the Tour.”
“I’ve never started the Tour de France in such poor form, and that feels unusual. I did a lot of work following my crash, but I’m still in not such good shape.”
As for what he can achieve in the upcoming Tour de France, Van Aert played down comparisons with 2021, when he had an operation on his appendix before the race but then went on to win three stages. This time, he said, he was coming back from a much tougher scenario in terms of physical injuries and recovery. Consquently, describing what his options really are in the upcoming Tour could be neatly summed up in three words: ‘Wait and see.’
“I will find out during the race, and see how much I can progress, but meantime I will have a team role. First on the flat, then hopefully on the climbs. And then if I can have a chance in the sprints or in other stages - that’d be great.”
Van Aert pointed out that such a tough start to the Tour de France, with two very hilly stages in Italy, will bring an instant series of reference points for his underlying form. “You’ll know very quickly how well you are going,” he said.
While Van Aert will try to get the maximum out of his participation in cycling’s biggest stage race, be it in a support role or something more highprofile, his upcoming Olympics participation is also very much at the back of his mind. Earlier this week, the Belgian Federation announced that Van Aert would be racing both the time trial and the road race, alongside Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep).
“Due to my crash this spring, racing here is the best option with the Games in mind,” Van Aert argued, “but racing here in any case is also very important in itself. You can’t simply ride the Tour in a relaxed way, just to build for other goals.”
“With any luck, we’ll finish the Tour in good shape and ready to switch focus to the Olympics. And I’m proud of what I’ve been able to achieve in these last two months, too. It’s impossible to say yet, though, whether I can do something special in the Tour.”
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