Wout Van Aert Won’t Sacrifice the Classics for Giro d’Italia GC Ambitions
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Wout van Aert is a lot of things. He’s a domestique, a sprinter, a rouleur, a puncheur, a TT specialist, a cross racer, and, sometimes, a climber. One thing he isn’t, quizzically to some, is a GC contender.
And with wins at races like Milan-San Remo, Gent-Wevelgem, Strade Bianche, Amstel Gold Race, and Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, to name a few, van Aert has proven that he’s one of the best one-day racers on Earth. Of course, two of the biggest races on the Classics calendar—Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders—have thus far eluded the Jumbo-Visma superstar.
In a recent interview with the Belgian cycling podcast De Rode Lantaarn (“The Red Latern”), the 29-year-old Herentals native said that training up for a possible go at a GC win in May’s Giro d’Italia would adversely impact one of his biggest goals for 2024: adding more Classics wins to his stacked palmarès.
But the perpetual speculation of when Jumbo-Visma might plan a Grand Tour around van Aert hit a fever pitch over the last few months, after the announcement of the 2024 Giro route. Boasting more time trial kilometers and less climbing than in years past gave a feeling that this might be the perfect parcours for van Aert to finally enjoy the role of team leader.
It was a speculation compounded by the announcement that one of Jumbo’s team leaders, reigning Giro champion Primož Roglič, was transferring to Bora-Hansgrohe at the end of the 2023 season. Adding further fuel to the fire was van Aert’s decision to slim down his winter cyclocross season, including sitting out of the World Championships. All of this stacked up to say that perhaps Wout was finally keen to go for a GC win.
Such speculation was put to bed however, when van Aert told the Rode Lantaarn hosts, “If I were to go to the Giro, I would prefer to go for stages. Riding for GC cannot be combined with the other things I want.”
Those “other things” include victories at Paris-Roubaix, the 2024 Paris Olympics, and his hometown Classic, the Tour of Flanders.
Van Aert added, “Maybe I can ride a nice result (in the Giro) if I sacrifice a lot for it, but I don't want that.”
He went on to mention how even if he trained up for a GC bid, his body simply isn’t built for the rigors of what’s required to win a Grand Tour.
“Even if I had general classification ambitions, it wouldn’t be to win, because my body shape is against me,” he said, referencing the fact that, at 6’ 3” and around 170 pounds, he is one of the largest racers in the peloton.
Still, for many cycling fans, it seems to always feel like there’s nothing van Aert can’t do.
Eyes and rumors were alit during the 2022 Tour de France, when van Aert courageously pulled his teammate and eventual Tour winner Jonas Vingegaard up the Hautacam. However, that was just one climb during one stage and, what’s easy to forget is how, once he turned the road over to the 130-pound Vingegaard with just a few kilometers left on the climb, van Aert could barely turn the pedals over, coming to nearly a standstill.
Still, watching van Aert in the green jersey typically reserved for sprinters charging up a grade as fearsome as the Hautacam, dropping Tadej Pogaçar and Jumbo’s own climbing domestique Sepp Kuss, made everyone think that may have been a sign of things to come.
And maybe they will come. But for now, we’ll have to enjoy Wout van Aert chasing stage wins and dragging his teammates to victories in Grand Tours, and possibly filling in those Classics blank spots on his already-legendary resume.
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