Boonen and others think Van Aert rode 'recklessly' at World Championships: 'We thought he'd get the message after Roubaix'

Van Aert was part of a dangerous breakaway early in the race, which included Mathieu van der Poel, among others. However, Van Aert wasn’t the strongest rider in that group, and he was forced to drop back.

Things weren’t looking good for his fellow team leader, Evenepoel, either. He was dropped countless times but managed to bridge back across to the group each time. It wasn’t enough for the world title; he finished twelfth. Van Aert crossed the finish line in 28th place.

Boonen believes that Belgium failed when you look at the big picture. “They certainly didn’t ride well. In the end, Remco rode the best of them all thanks to his resilience—always fighting his way back and never giving up. Wout didn’t ride well, and the rest of the team, except for Alec Segaert, also had a bad day. Is there an explanation for that? Sometimes yes, sometimes no."

Planckaert was a tough critic, especially against the leaders. He said of Van Aert: “He closes the gap on Van der Poel, but if Van der Poel pushes a bit harder twice, he’s left behind."

He didn't hold back when talking about Evenepoel's performance either. "If Del Toro had really gone on the attack, Evenepoel would never have come back either. People talk about character, but if the pace doesn’t slow down, Evenepoel will never come back."

Bakelants had already been quite critical in his analysis. “It was a fantastic World Championship, but what a weak performance by the Belgians,” he wrote in a column at the time. “No one managed to rise above themselves. Worse still, no one even came close to their best level.”

In the podcast, he revisits this point, with particularly harsh words for Van Aert. He argues that Van Aert should have waited longer.

"I thought he’d got the message after Paris-Roubaix. But how did Tom [Boonen] become world champion? Not by riding recklessly in Madrid, but by trusting his teammates and knowing: ‘That’s my strength, and I have to rely on it.’ It was a unique opportunity for Van Aert, because I knew that if Pedersen could be there, then you had to stay with him."

Van Aert had been touted beforehand as one of the team leaders, but Boonen thinks things were actually a little different. “I don’t know what the agreements were. I don’t think Wout was at the start as the team leader. From what I’ve seen of him racing, I don’t think so. They told us he was, but that’s different from what they tell those guys.”