The full roll call of star names at the Vuelta a España remains shrouded in doubt a week from the start but one certainty is that Wout van Aert will be on the start ramp in Lisbon next Saturday.
The Vuelta has been on Van Aert’s schedule since the very start of the season, and his intentions never changed despite the heavy crash at Dwars door Vlaanderen that ended his Classics campaign prematurely and ruled him out of the Giro d’Italia.
After missing the corsa rosa, Van Aert was drafted into Visma-Lease a Bike’s Tour de France squad, where he played a supporting role for Jonas Vingegaard but endured frustration in his own bid for a stage win.
Van Aert went on to take the bronze medal in the time trial at the Paris 2024 Olympics, where he went to play a key part in his compatriot Remco Evenepoel’s victory in the road race.
The Belgian’s busy summer is set to continue at the Vuelta, which gets underway on Saturday August 17 and where he will seek his first victory since he claimed Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne in February.
“The races of course are coming very quickly for Wout this summer, but that was discussed and planned,” Visma directeur sportif Grischa Niermann told Sporza. “It was Wout's explicit wish to ride the Vuelta after the Tour.
“Wout is very motivated to prove himself again this year, because he is a rider who wants to win races. As a team we will do everything we can to help him win a stage in the Vuelta. He deserves it.”
When Van Aert’s plans to ride the Giro and Vuelta were first floated last winter, there was speculation that the Belgian might even consider a tilt at the general classification in one of the two Grand Tours.
Niermann confirmed that Van Aert’s sole aim in Spain would be to the chase stage victories, while defending champion Sepp Kuss will lead their tilt on the overall standings.
Despite Kuss’ ambitions, Van Aert looks set to enjoy a freer role at the Vuelta compared to the Tour.
“Sepp is the reigning champion, but not the top favourite to win this Vuelta, which means Wout won't have to sacrifice himself in every mountain stage,” Niermann said.
“In the Tour there were only 2.5 favourites and we had one of them with Jonas Vingegaard. In the Vuelta there are six or seven teams that can take the final victory. In Spain we will not have to control every mountain stage from kilometre zero, which means Wout will have a different role to the Tour.”
It means that Van Aert will be at liberty to chase stage wins in bunch sprints and transition stages, as well as in the opening time trial in Lisbon.
“We see a lot of opportunities for Wout to score, ideally even more than five,” said Niermann, who downplayed the idea that Van Aert would leave the Vuelta early as he builds form ahead of the World Championships in Zürich.
"We're not considering that because that last time trial in Madrid is also tailor-made for him,” Niermann said.
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