The first broadside was brought by Adrie Van der Poel, father of Mathieu, speaking about the intention to change strategy by Van Aert: «I think it's the biggest mistake I can make – he declared to Het Nieuwsblad – he would begin to compete against his own nature. He would have to think about the mistakes he made: the handing over of victory to Laporte at Ghent-Wevelgem or the wrong tactic that prevented De Lie to win the European Championships by a wide margin."
Johan was the one who put the twelve load on us Museum: «Perhaps he lacks the murderous spirit to win a race – he ruled GCN – you can't give away a race like the Ghent-Wevelgem: At the end of your career the most important thing is how much you have won and not what you have given away. Van der Poel sometimes it leads the way for Philipsen, but that's all, he's more of a killer. Van Aert is good at one-day races: that's where his focus should be."
The examples of Maertens and Saronni
It's clear that the Belgian's season, filled with second places (but we could say his entire career), is a hot topic of discussion, combined with rumours of him testing himself as team leader in a major Giro, certainly not the Tour, but perhaps the Giro d'Italia. It wouldn't be the first time that a great specialist of the classics, who makes sprint speed his strength, tries the big shot: a pure sprinter like Maertens he won a Vuelta and everyone remembers saroni capable of rising to the double triumph at the Giro d'Italia.
The great Beppe is precisely the right man to try to enter the meanders of Van Aert, who is grappling with a fundamental crossroads in his career: «Wout is one of those 5-6 riders who make you passionate about cycling. As a spectator, I love it, but if I then start to think as a former rider and manager, as I was, then things change.If Van Aert ran better, he would win a lot more: it's obvious."
Are you comfortable with the idea of being the captain of a major Giro?
Maybe I'm going against the grain, but I say yes. I'm not saying he will win, in fact it's very likely that he won't, but he has to do it now because time is running out.But first of all he must put himself in order, in his ambitions, because you can't do everything, you have to know how to give up. It's a bit like the speech of pogacar, who can really win everywhere like no one else, but he can't do it and with the general level he has he is forced to make choices.
Museeuw is right then in making the distinction between Dutch and Belgian…
Certainly. Until last year VDP was racing too generously, putting on a show but losing too many opportunitiesThen he made some choices, he oriented the program according to the specific objectives and the results were visible. Let's make one thing clear: I really like Van Aert, I remember him racing bikes when he was very young. Colnago, he just has to discipline himself and sacrifice something.
A Van Aert captain in a Grand Tour also means having to manage the team in the mountain stages. Is it the same for someone who's used to doing that in the one-day classics?
No, it changes a lot. You have to know how to manage the situation, the standings, know how to evaluate which stages are the hardest for you and use the team so as to lose as few times as possible. The real "running on the defense", knowing that the time trials can actually be a factor in your favor, as can the time bonuses in many stages. Evenepoel is the same thing, we know by now that he has limits on the long stages, on the long and repeated climbs he pays the price in the endYou have to know how to manage those situations in order to stand out.
Technically speaking, you found yourself dealing with the same situation and you took home the pink jersey…
It's impossible to make comparisons between such different eras; cycling has changed enormously since then. I was fast because as an amateur I had mainly done track cycling; in fact, I had never really prepared the road. When I moved on and started living a professional life, everything changed, but on an existential level. I started preparing the road activity in a methodical wayI saw that I could hold my own on climbs and in time trials, I evolved technically and eventually realized that I could be competitive even in a major Giro. But compared to today, there's a fundamental difference...
What?
I became a pro and had to learn everything, I even had to evolve muscularly. Today, however, children do methodical activities from a very young age.They reach the top division already weaned in that regard; they just need to adapt to the demands of the activity. They're already trained, prepared. That leap isn't there.
Going back to Van Aert, don't you think that the many second places in the end weigh on him psychologically?
This may be. Some cases, such as the one in Ghent-Wevelgem, say that Wout has a good character and this quality can also become a defect.. There is a risk that in the end you get used to finishing second, that you lose that grit needed to give the final pushWinning is something special, it can even make something click in your head. Better not get used to second places, I'm saying this for him…
