When Wout van Aert introduced final week that his foremost aim for 2024 would be the Giro d’Italia, pundits speculated {that a} push for a Grand Tour general classification would imply the Belgian would put aside is Classics ambitions.
Not so, mentioned Van Aert in an interview with Eurosport‘s Laura Meseguer, recorded whereas Van Aert was in Colombia for the Giro di Rigo. The Jumbo-Visma rider emphasised that the Tour of Flanders is his “foremost dream” along with the Olympic Video games in Paris.
“Will probably be a particular 12 months with the Olympic Video games in the midst of the summer season, so for positive there shall be a give attention to that. However the primary dream stays the identical, to win one of many Flemish classics,” Van Aert mentioned, showing to detect the English title for the Tour of Flanders.
Van Aert has began De Ronde 5 occasions in his profession thus far, ending within the high 10 in 4 editions, coming second to Mathieu van der Poel in 2020. This 12 months he was with Van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and eventual winner Tadej Pogačar (UAE Crew Emirates) till the final lap however misplaced contact after which was out-sprinted for the rostrum by Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek).
He promised to maintain going after a victory in his residence Monument.
“That’s one thing I shall be making an attempt to realize till I’ve it.”
Van Aert has additionally began the Tour de France 5 seasons in a row and has been invaluable up to now two editions for Jonas Vingegaard. He shall be taking over a distinct Grand Tour for the primary time in 2024.
On the time of the interview, Van Aert had not but introduced the Giro as a aim, however mentioned, “I am trying ahead to possibly doing one thing else than what I did earlier than.”
Van Aert diminished his cyclocross marketing campaign to a half dozen races, primarily centred across the Christmas vacation and leaving off the World Championships after he competed in a fuller calendar final season.
“Final 12 months, I discovered it mentally troublesome to give attention to the cyclocross season after which transfer on to the spring,” he mentioned on the Jumbo-Visma web site. “I did not wish to depart something to probability with the Spring Classics.”
Towards that finish, Van Aert took to the course of the Dwars door Vlaanderen on Tuesday along with his teammates Edoardo Affini, Maarten Wynants, Grisha Niermann, Mick and Tim van Dijke and newcomer Matteo Jorgenson.
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