"Average? I think his season has been outstanding": Van Aert receives support from unexpected French source

Let's first take a brief look at Van Aert's spring, which seems like a long time ago now with the Giro d'Italia and the recent Critérium du Dauphiné already behind us. After a decent build-up to the classics, things went wrong in Dwars door Vlaanderen: Visma | Lease a Bike ruined a three-on-one situation against Neilson Powless. In the really big goals that followed, the long-awaited monumental victory did not materialize. Van Aert finished fourth in the Tour of Flanders and also fourth in Paris-Roubaix.

The focus then shifted to the Giro, where the Belgian got very close to the first pink jersey in stage one. In the streets of Tirana, however, Mads Pedersen beat Van Aert in the sprint. Despite this, the first week of the Giro ended spectacularly in Siena, where the Belgian took victory in the Strade Bianche stage after a fantastic finale. After a long period full of setbacks, there was finally that moment of relief.

Van Aert turned the tide in the Giro, and Madouas has nothing but respect for that. 'Even if your name is Wout van Aert, you always finish second or third, and you think, "But what can I do to win?” Well, sometimes you just have to wait, but so much goes through your head... Everyone criticizes, everyone says things, you hear a lot of negative things, and that's not how you get over it," said the Frenchman from Groupama-FDJ on the YouTube channel En Danseuse.

"And then Van Aert won a stage in the Giro, and now he's back on track, even though he was heavily criticized at the start of the Giro d'Italia. He managed to turn the tide and reverse the trend," said Madouas, who has a lot of respect for the Belgian. "He's a great champion. When you see his consistency... Everyone says he's had an average season, but I think his season has been extraordinary. Yes, okay, he hasn't won, but he's always in the top 5 of every classic."

“How can people judge that?” the Frenchman continued. “He's probably the third-best rider after Pogacar and van der Poel. He's at the same level as Pedersen, and Wout has no reason to envy Pedersen, especially when it comes to consistency.” Madouas found the criticism Van Aert received ludicrous. “I really have to laugh at that. When you see how many sacrifices he makes and what he does when he returns from injury, That man performs at the highest level! Yes, he's missing something, but he's not the one who's lacking; it's the others who made sacrifices."