Wout Van Aert has a easy want for 2025, mixed with lofty targets and an attraction for gear restrictions in professional races to assist scale back high-speed crashes.
After his 2024 season was wrecked by two main crashes and complicated accidents, the Visma-Lease a Bike rider hopes to keep away from an analogous destiny in 2025. He has clear ambitions of returning to battle within the Classics and Tour de France sprints.
“Keep on my bike,” Van Aert stated together with his normal sense of dry humour when requested by Sporza, throughout an interview at his house close to Antwerp in northern Flanders.
“I would like to have the ability to participate within the races I wish to participate in. As a result of having to observe all the massive Classics and occasions in 2025 is sufficient for me.”
Van Aert turns 30 in September and hopes to look again on 2025 with a victory on the Tour of Flanders or Paris-Roubaix on his palmares.
“I dream of with the ability to look again in a 12 months and have a victory on the Tour of Flanders or Paris-Roubaix. That’s my precedence,” he stated.
Van Aert crashed at near 70km/h throughout Dwars door Vlaanderen as riders fought for place earlier than the Kanarieberg climb. It has been faraway from the 2025 race however Van Aert believes a restrict on gear sizes would improve security within the skilled peloton.
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The pace of the lads’s skilled peloton has progressively elevated, and so too have the gears. Riders more and more go for greater chainrings for mechanical effectivity and to present them a alternative of even greater gears.
The UCI eliminated gear restrictions for Junior riders on January 1, 2023 however Van Aert is satisfied that some sort of restriction within the peloton would enhance security even when pre-race checks could be wanted.
“It’s a essential level within the race and a small mistake there may be by no means a ‘fall’,” Van Aert stated of his crash earlier than the Kanarieberg climb throughout Dwars door Vlaanderen.
“It is made an attention-grabbing debate among the many riders as a result of biking is getting sooner. Limiting the gears would make the game so much safer, in my view. Different riders do not suppose so however I am satisfied about it. If you’re on that descent with a gear restrict, nobody can transfer up. Now the gears are so massive that you just nonetheless take into consideration overtaking.”
Van Aert’s second main crash got here within the Vuelta a España after a formidable come-back by way of the Tour de France and silver within the time trial on the Paris Olympic Video games. He gained three phases on the Vuelta however crashed right into a rockface on stage 16. He suffered large cuts and harm to his proper knee, with scars nonetheless seen on the Visma-Lease a Bike workforce pictures.
“The autumn wasn’t critical in any respect. The unhealthy luck was that there was a rock face. It actually reduce into me,” Van Aert defined.
“At first I assumed in regards to the sporting loss within the Vuelta however that modified once I did not really feel nicely within the ambulance after which due to the intense knee harm that was recognized in Belgium. If there had been grass, I may have simply continued within the Vuelta.”
Van Aert struggled with one more lengthy spell of damage rehabilitation and so opted to experience a diminished cyclocross marketing campaign this winter so he might be at his greatest within the spring Classics.
“I had no need to start out that rehabilitation in any respect. I had no power left to start out from scratch once more. That was a tough interval,” he admitted.
“How did I get began? I had little alternative.”
Van progressively returned to coaching within the low season, working within the health club to rebuild the energy in his knee. He completed fourth within the Azencross in December and can subsequent race on Saturday on the Superprestige Gullegem. He is not going to experience the Cyclocross World Championships, prioritising his street racing as he turns 30.
“I am virtually worn out in racing phrases,”
Van Aert joked about his age.
“However I do not consider that, though the top is nearer than the start. Although that birthday actually hit house. I do know for certain that expertise does not go away, even after so many setbacks, I nonetheless reached a excessive degree within the fall, so that can most likely come again.”