The sign was too heavy. Huge favorite of “his” Worlds, Wout van Aert got lost last Sunday in Leuven, to the delight of French neighbors and the intrepid Julian Alaphilippe. Belgian cycling has taken a big slap in the face, and it is with still reddened cheeks that the versatile gifted Jumbo-Visma will try this weekend to achieve another of his dreams: winning Paris-Roubaix.
“I am convinced that he will be ready”, wants to believe in The future his compatriot Peter Van Petegem, 2003 winner of the Queen of Classics. “When it doesn’t want to, we have to accept it and not lament forever. The Hell of the North is a great way to quickly find the summits. “
Worlds: Van Aert responds to Evenepoel: “Very easy to say that after” # Flanders2021 #VanAert #Evenepoel #Alaphilippe https://t.co/BTSQXsQEdc
– Cyclism’Actu (@cyclismactu) September 30, 2021
Rather than lamentations, we can speak of mea culpa, through the words of van Aert after his sad 11th place in Leuven. “I am proud of the team but I am disappointed. The whole team was there, not me. Jasper Stuyven finished at the foot of the podium while the prodigy Remco Evenepoel got high for nothing, and wanted to let it be known.
“I could have become world champion”, thus assailed the young cheeky (21 years old) Tuesday evening, on the set of the show Extra Time Koers of the Flemish channel VRT. For him, it is clear: the management of the Belgian selection sacrificed him and never considered a plan B when his elder of 27 years stuck. “Remco said more on TV than on the bus [de l’équipe],
replied the latter, which also questioned the behavior of Evenepoel, too quick according to him to attack 180 terminals from the finish. I can understand that criticisms are born when the expected result is not the one obtained, but it is a shame to have a speech that takes a 180% turn internally. “
In shape too early?
As we can see, the atmosphere is just as heavy in France as the weather forecast on Sunday a few kilometers from the border. Already that doubt surrounds van Aert before his potential rendezvous with History …
“Maybe he was in good shape too early, unlike Julian Alaphilippe,” David Lehaire, sports journalist, says. To The last hour, in reference to the Tour of Great Britain dominated by the Belgian ahead of the Englishman Hayter and our national Alaf ‘. Paris-Roubaix is the race of his dreams, which he hasn’t been able to run for two years. He would have been the big favorite if he had been world champion. There it will be one of the favorites. “
All terrain superhero
Another failure would stain its array of off-road superheroes. “Today, he is one of the two stars of Belgian cycling with Remco Evenepoel, judge David Lehaire. He’s the best runner in the country right now, the most complete. For the past two years, the child of Herentals, the homeland of the legendary Rik Van Looy has stacked six stages of the Tour de France as well as four classics (Stade Bianche and Milan-San Remo in 2020, Gand-Wevelgem and Amstel Gold Race in 2021).
This summer on the Grande Boucle, the former triple world champion in cycle touring was able to win in Malaucène after a double dose of Mont Ventoux, then to chain a crushing victory on the Saint-Emilion stopwatch and prestigious success in the sprint. on the Champs-Elysées. Breathtaking performances for ordinary people as well as for a lot of informed observers.
But van Aert has also made an impressive series of second places over the past year which could, if we give in to ease, summon the spirit of Raymond Poulidor, the grandfather of his Dutch rival Mathieu van der Poel. Not to take too long, we will be content to quote the online races of the 2020 World Cup in Imola and the Tokyo Olympics, as well as the time trial of the 2020 and 2021 Worlds.
The first planetary coronation of Alaphilippe in Italy had seen the Belgian cador, already considered as the big favorite, trapped in the last ascent, while his team had however, this time, run perfectly. In Japan, lonely among his rivals, he could not do anything against the insolent form of Richard Carapaz. As for the lap times, each time van Aert came across a stratospheric Filippo Ganna. “It is the silver medal too much”, had raged the Flemish during the recent World Cup.
Less popular than Evenepoel
“For us, he is always a winner, a cyclist above the rest who has more performance this year than the others, however asserts Joeri De Knop, reporter to Het Laatste Nieuws, Dutch-speaking Belgian daily. But his image has changed a bit with all his silver medals. It also makes him a little human. “Not that the man is unpleasant, be careful, warns our Flemish colleague! “He is well liked, he is a nice guy, down to earth, who comes from a warm little background, that of cyclo-cross, and a humble family. It is popular in both parts of the country. “
The Belgian sportsman of the year 2020 still enjoys a higher odds on one linguistic side than on the other. “Van Aert is very limited in French,” notes David Lehaire. Remco [Evenepoel] is from the suburbs of Brussels and although his mother tongue is Flemish, he speaks French well. Younger Van Aert was colder as Evenepoel, who arrived in the bike like a UFO, still has that kid image making jokes. In a poll, he was also one of the two favorite sportsmen of the Belgians behind the heptathlete Nafissatou Thiam. “
The announced rain, a godsend
According to this survey published last January, van Aert was only in 7th place. If he succeeds Gilbert in Roubaix, the man with gel hair should grab a few ranks on the next list. The rain announced for Sunday could serve the plans of the world n ° 2 (Pogacar took over from him this Thursday
the head of the UCI ranking) and remind him of his young years frolicking in the damp undergrowth.
“Van Aert will dominate the classics for a few years,” asserts Van Petegem, decidedly a big fan. It is not because he lost at the Worlds that he should be buried. »Nor promise him second place behind van der Poel, Asgreen or why not Sénéchal.