> “What’s wrong with Wout!?” I was caught off guard today by how much negative chatter followed Wout Van Aert’s excellent performance in Brabantse Pijl. Are many seeing what I’m seeing? Apparently not. So I took a few minutes this afternoon to share my thoughts on his comeback performances—and how they might be pointing to bigger-picture goals that most people are missing. 1. “Wout is washed. His sprint is pathetic compared to his 2021 Champs-Élysées-winning sprint.”
Let’s kick this off with some facts that hit differently. Ironically, “2021 Champs-Élysées-winning Wout” lost Brabantse Pijl in a sprint to 128-pound Tom Pidcock. Yes, that’s right—the same guy who, in the same year, won the field sprint on the Champs-Élysées got beaten by a rookie pro climber in a sprint. This year? Wout lost the sprint to Olympic champion Remco… after both of them dropped Pidcock on a climb earlier. That sounds like an improvement over 2021 to me. Was he exceptional in the Tour de France in 2021? Absolutely. I would expect something similar in 2025.