Van Aert’s running style does not fit into any mold
As I say other times, this post is a déjà vû, because it is not the first time that I write about Wout Van Aert, and I am afraid that it will not be the last.
On the Tour, I cut myself off from it a lot, I spoke quite little about Wout Van Aert, but it’s just that it is impossible to skip this runner for longas it is perennial during the season and omnipresent in every race in which it competes.
Weeks have passed since the Tour de France, and Van Aert has returned to make an appearance on classic paths in recent weekends.
Second, a few days ago in Hamburg, and winner in Plouayfollow the statistics that dictate that he almost never gets off the podium,
But apart from the statistics, which is powerful, with Van Aert there are sensations…
#BretagneClassic
Analysis of the (enormous) victory of @WoutvanAert in Plouay:-Start 30 km from the finish line to start selecting, change the pace up to 5 times and close 6 attacks in the last 10 km.
-In the sprint, he has to throw 300 meters and wins after 17″ ???? pic.twitter.com/dEQE8NyUCZ– Alberto Campos (@albercampos_) August 29, 2022
This phenomenal thread is a button, a mirror of what this runner displays in each race he attends.
An excellent repertoire of actions on the fly, improvisations and coming-outs that have something in common: a brutal presence in the race.
Going out to cuts, closing gaps, shooting for third parties, looking for the attack and sprinting to win, are just a few gestures that Van Aert brings out in each race.
But not only that, when he is required in the team, he is there, when a teammate who misses the train in the middle of the cobblestones needs him, he is there, even appears to eliminate Pogacar in Hautacam after being away all day.
Because Van Aert is not only what competes and moves, it is also the strategic value it achieves at key moments and decisive.
I am convinced that the development of the Granon stage in this Tour would have been very different if the Belgian escaped in the lead had not gone.
With that certainty, Pogacar knew that he could not leave Vingegaard and Roglic a meter in the Galibier, because just thinking that they would go ahead and link up with Wout caused him all the evils.
for all that, for the individual and collective value it achievesBecause of the spectacle he offers, because of the undeniable appreciation he has from the public and because of his constant presence twelve months of the year, let’s not forget that he also holds a chair in cyclocross, I think we are facing the best cyclist in the world.
A very complete runner in a hyper-competitive context and demanding, subject to very tough rivals and with the fans closer than ever, because the networks are there, flying over everything.
I don’t know if Van Aert will finally finish off in the World Cup, but I am certain that he will be the girl of all eyes, with everyone looking out for him, if not running against him, in order to get him out of the equation.
It will condition for sure.
He is the complete cyclist who is difficult to find a parallel in the past, Kelly, perhaps Jalabert, other previous ones such as De Vlaeminck,… there are not so many and therein lies its uniqueness.
For the moment, enjoy the cycling dance with thick letters that he gave us in Plouay, the last episode of the best cyclist in the world.
Image: ASO/Pauline Ballet
