The story everyone was waiting for: Wout van Aert finally settles debate about his classification ambitions

Van Aert also discussed the events of the past few weeks - including the fact that he changed coaches. Following the departure of Marc Lamberts, Wout is now working with Mathieu Heijboer as his personal coach. This was a bit of a shift for the man from Herentals, Belgium. "I was surprised by his departure. He also knew Primoz Roglic well and is moving to BORA-hansgrohe. It means that I will have to broaden my horizons and move on. That's just how it is. I will definitely keep in touch with Marc," says Van Aert, who of course found a familiar successor in Heijboer.

In November, Van Aert was a guest of Rigoberto Urán's in Colombia. He enjoyed the visit and was amazed by Urán's fame in his home country. "It was a unique experience. To fans, he is primarily a good cyclist, but there he is a superstar. He is far more famous than other Colombian cyclists. It seems like professional cycling is his hobby, given how much else he does. I wouldn't want to swap places with him." The Jumbo-Visma all-rounder also discussed his own status, trying to stay calm under all the pressure. "It's crazy to see the impact you have. I try to stay true to myself in the madness, but in recent years I've become more aware of it, for example by handing out autographs."

Van Aert started out as a cyclo-cross rider but soon realized he could also go far in road cycling. The transition from cyclo-cross to road racing is difficult for many riders, and the Belgian certainly felt this pressure as well: "You think to yourself, let's wait and see. I was curious about the steps I could take. I immediately finished on the podium in Strade Bianche. That meant the wait and see was over, and expectations skyrocketed. I didn't immediately think I could do it, so I kept wondering if I could keep up with the next steps." After the 2019 Tour, where Van Aert managed to achieve a stage win, his doubts vanished: "At that point, the question whether or not I could switch had been answered for me."

Of course, the upcoming Giro was a major topic of conversation during the interview. What is Van Aert's plan for the Italian tour? "Suppose, that I would be at the starting line..." says the 29-year-old all-rounder with a smile and a wink, referring to the open secret that his participation has become. "Then I'd prefer to go for stage wins. I don't usually see limits. But I'm realistic. Riding for the classification isn't really compatible with the other things I want to do in the spring. Maybe it's possible if I make many sacrifices, but I don't want that. For example, I could finish fifth, but if I have to lose weight, spend a long time at high-altitude training, and get bored, then it's not worth it," Van Aert is quite clear about the much-discussed challenge of riding for the general classification.

The Jumbo-Visma star continues his well-founded story: "Right now, I get to do many different things that I think are cool, and I get satisfaction out of being able to combine them. If I have classification ambitions, then it's not to win, I'm realistic about that. In which case, it's not worth the sacrifices." Van Aert is not interested in simply raking in an honorary finish. "I think many things are possible, but I'm also realistic. For myself, my plans have always been achievable. It's about winning or winning together. If I start for an honorary finish, that's less appealing to me than winning races," says the Belgian rider. He also acknowledges that the 'easy' Giro next year is still very hard, and states that there are limits to losing weight.