Half an hour with Van Aert, the best cyclist in the world: “I feel that we are changing cycling”

“I still weigh too much to try to win the Tour,” says the three-time cyclocross world champion, a great star in Benidorm, who today hosts a World Cup event in the midst of formidable expectations.

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Wout Van Aert He is a few hours away from contesting his first professional race in Spain and he walks relaxed through the hall of a hotel conquered by the black and yellow Jumbo Visma. It is the day before a cyclocross World Cup event in which the expectation is maximum and his status as absolute favorite (he has won eight of his 11 races this winter, in the other three he was second), but the Belgian he has spent almost four and a half hours on his bike this morning, covering 145 kilometers on the roads of Alicante. I don’t care about rest. In reality, nobody rests, he clears with a half smile before a small group of Spanish journalists.

Here, in a remote urbanization in Mutxamel, established Van Aert su training camp on January 9 as the first season of a 2023 that is intense. He is accompanied by his wife and his little Georges. Along with the Mediterranean, it combines explosive training with long runs and, in addition, foot races that strengthen your muscles. He doesn’t just look for the sun. A few days ago she publicly denounced the harassment suffered by his figure in Herentals, the place where he resides. She took herself out of context a bit. I understand the dimension that cycling has in my country and that the attention paid to me is growing more and more. But they are usually very polite, he clarifies, surprised, for the better, also by the Spanish fans who will vibrate today in Benidorm with their duel against Mathieu Van der Poel y Thomas Pidcock.

He always says that he moves for challenges. Why will you be struggling in your career four or five years from now?

Good question. Of course, I have some idea. But, for now, I want to continue being the cyclist of today, competing in the classics, trying to win stages in the grand tours. Trying to maintain the same profile and add careers to my record that I still don’t have. I still have a lot to win, Roubaix, Flanders, the World Cup… big goals. For now, that’s what’s on my mind.

But if Jonas Vingegaard failed in the Tour…

[Re] I still weigh too much to try to win the Tour.

What is your limit?

I don’t like to think about my limits.

Roubaix and Flanders are his big targets. Do you feel a thorn in there?

Yes, especially in Roubaix I have never had any luck. It is a race in which you have to run perfectly, but something has always happened to me or there was someone stronger. In those races especially every detail can be decisive. Hopefully one day luck will be on my side.

Is it more special when the one you defeat is Van der Poel?

I always try to do my best no matter who is in the race. Even without Mathieu, it is very difficult to win. Because of his abilities, he always pushes me to the limit, beating him is never easy. But what is special is winning after a battle in the last meters, like in cyclocross. It’s more about how the race ends than who you win.

Do you feel that you, Van der Poel, Evenepoel and the others, with your way of running on the attack, are changing cycling?

Yes, I feel like we are changing cycling. Actually, you can see something different in the last three or four years. I also love seeing others, like Alaphillipe or Pogacar, in Flanders. This is fantastic for the fans. It’s a show all season long. It is something new that has not been seen before. Always with an aggressive running style.

If you don’t attack, you don’t enjoy?

[Re] I always have a plan. I always try to win.

Do you feel more pressure on the road than in cyclocross?

The fans expect him to win every cyclocross race. But personally I don’t feel the pressure there anymore, because I’ve basically won everything there is to win. I love this sport and that’s why I come back every year.

Do you think you will be able to combine both throughout your career?

I think so, I’ve been doing it for 10 years. As a child I did not dream of being a professional cyclist, I liked Tom Boonen like everyone else in my country, but I dreamed of cyclocross.

It will be difficult to do it again

Van Aert’s 2022 was amazing. Few times was a display in the Tour as wild as his, because this time he not only won again in all terrains, in the sprint, escape and, of course, in the fight against the clock, to already accumulate nine victories of stage in the Big loop -and that in his first contact, around 2019, he suffered a fall in Pau that was about to end his sports career-. Yes Vingegaard raised his arms in Paris it was thanks to him, despite the fact that he never stopped looking for leaks. My attacks are part of the plan, he was counting on to clear up Jumbo’s apparent bewilderment.

I think this year the team is even stronger, which is a good thing. But, on the other hand, last year was very successful, with the Tour win and everything else. It will be difficult to do it again, he assures, although the classics do not leave his mind, nor who will be his rivals and his allies. With Van Barle (new reinforcement of the Jumbo and winner in Roubaix ahead of him) I am very complementary. We also have Laportea Benoit…with our best team in the classics we have several options to win, not just me, he admits.

Which Spanish cyclist do you currently see best?

A Valverde [Re]. If he comes back… because I see how he trains. With her palmars it has been the top for a long time. I like them very much Enric Mas and Peio Bilbao, who won this week at the Tour Down Under. But it’s hard to choose one, I don’t want to get into trouble.

Do you enjoy suffering?

Of course, I like to suffer on the bike. If you don’t, you can’t be professional.

By the way, do you remember your first bike?

S. I remember my first race. I had an old bike that my father adapted for me. She was made of iron and had gears under the handlebars, something very old even for the time. My father wanted to see if I really liked him before buying me a more expensive bike. I started in cyclocross and that was where my dreams were, because I didn’t like school very much. There were two big stars in my region, Erwin Vervecken and Bart Wellens, who were world champions. I wanted to be like them.

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