Sander
3rd in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and win in Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne: Wout van Aert devoured his first classic starters with relish. After his victory and just before his trip to Tenerife, Van Aert planned for Sports Weekend.
Sammy Neyrinck in conversation with Wout van Aert.
Wout van Aert was also studied with a magnifying glass during his first racing days in Spain and Portugal , but in Flanders the race really comes home.
“You can feel how everyone has been looking forward to these races so much,” he told Sammy Neyrinck shortly after Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. “It was fun on the slopes.”
“Do I have time to enjoy? You are busy with the race, but you absorb it. The start in Ghent or the passage in Kortrijk: there you feel the support.”
Van Aert already received a standing ovation in ‘t Kuipke. “I said it on Saturday that that is actually not convenient, 5 hours before the final starts.”
“You get an adrenaline peak so early before the start. That is only possible in Flanders and we can be proud of that.”
Wout van Aert on Saturday in Kuipke in Ghent.
Why did I really want to drive Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne? I have missed many races and I wanted that donkey for my son.
After last season, Van Aert had made it clear that he would race more economically. There was little sign of that last weekend.
“That was certainly not possible in Kuurne. You have to throw yourself into it and my companions also wanted to go for it. So saving was not an option.”
Why did Van Aert actually want to ride Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne for the first time? “I really wanted that donkey,” he admits about the typical trophy.
“I think it’s a great prize and Kuurne is on my honors list. And I’ve already missed out on many races.”
“Who is the donkey for? I think my youngest son is still too small to compete for that,” Van Aert laughed.
Not an egoist
Wout van Aert demonstrated Visma-Lease a Bike with his team . “We have a perfect report, but in the Omloop I was definitely not the best man in the race.”
“I was often at my limit on the slopes. This is not yet my best level and I will work on that now.”
“The peloton gets stronger every year. You have to be better every year than the year before if you want to continue to compete for the prizes.”
“But I feel that I am currently much further ahead compared to last year at the same time of the season. I am very happy with that.”
I feel that I am much further ahead at the moment compared to last year at the same time of the season. I am very happy with that.
It is occasionally suggested that Van Aert is “too much of a gentleman”. Is he too good? is he not enough of an egoist?
Van Aert: “No, that is my character. I have already received a lot in return. I now also know that it is very difficult to do good for everyone. I no longer try to do that.”
“In this team, 6 to 7 boys dream of these races. They have the capabilities for it, but they realize that the opportunities grow by doing it together.”
“A lot of people may not want to see that or see it differently. I’m not trying to convince them. I’m very happy with how we can control the prices.”
But Van Aert does not use a handbrake. “If you pin on a shirt number, you have to do it as well as possible. That was also the case in the field this winter. Now winning is the goal. I always go for it.”
