Campenaerts sees ‘a different Wout’ from last year as Van Aert builds towards the Classics

Campenaerts immediately noticed, on the approach to the Cipressa, that team-mates Van Aert and Matteo Jorgenson had both been caught up in the crash. But the race waits for no one, and so the pace quickly went straight back up. At Visma | Lease a Bike, the roles had been divided in such a way that, besides Van Aert and Jorgenson, Christophe Laporte and Campenaerts himself also had to make it over the Cipressa in a good position.

“Christophe and I didn’t wait at the foot of the climb,” Campenaerts explained on the NOS Wielerpodcast. “First, you follow and see what happens. When we heard that Matteo and Wout were around ten seconds down after the descent, I immediately waited for their group and went to the front.” Lidl-Trek and Tudor also helped with the chase. “That meant we were still able to race for a podium place,” Campenaerts said.

It was still a remarkable moment, because for a brief spell it looked as though almost all of the top favourites had been taken out of contention. Did Campenaerts, at that point, think about his own chances, or at least about fully committing to the move? “Absolutely, that goes through your head,” he admitted. “I’m there with Christophe, and he really is a finisher too, a rider who could genuinely win Milan-Sanremo himself. It is obviously a bizarre situation when all the top favourites disappear like that.”

That scenario never truly developed, and Campenaerts could explain why. “You also feel that it’s just not done to say: right, we’re going to take the initiative now and make sure those riders don’t come back.” So team-mates Van Aert and Jorgenson returned, although both still had to change bikes. “For Mathieu and Tadej, that wasn’t the case,” Campenaerts noted.

Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogačar were therefore back in contention quickly, which immediately changed the dynamics at the front. “Those guys came back, and then you know right away: uh-oh, this is exactly what would have happened anyway if there hadn’t been a crash.” Even so, Van Aert still managed to sprint to third place after an intense finale. That recovery effort has already been highlighted elsewhere on IDL Procycling as one of the standout elements of his Sanremo ride.

And according to Campenaerts, that is a very encouraging sign. “I have to say, this was actually the first race this year that I rode together with Wout, coincidentally,” said the Belgian, who had only been called up on Friday afternoon as a replacement for the ill Matthew Brennan. “This is a different Wout from the one I saw racing last year. He rode fantastically then as well, with the Strade stage in the Giro and that stage over Montmartre.”

But according to the ever-smiling Belgian, it all looked much smoother this time than it did in 2025. “That was the difference with what I saw now in Sanremo. It all looked much sharper, and there was much more form coming off him. Last year, at times, it looked more like hard work.” On the evidence of Milan-Sanremo, that sounds like a promising sign for Van Aert heading into the spring Classics.

Campenaerts himself, incidentally, will not be racing the cobbled Classics. “I’m not riding the Classics, but I’m definitely looking forward to watching them,” the Belgian concluded with a laugh.