The Vuelta a España could bring Van Aert closer to the rainbow jersey: 'Something you can't replicate in training'

Wout van Aert is set to begin his second week in the Vuelta a España and would love nothing more than to win another stage and claim the green jersey. These are important goals for the Belgian rider from Visma | Lease a Bike, but his main goal doesn’t come until after the Vuelta. He has circled the World Championships in Montreal in red, and the year’s final Grand Tour is the perfect preparation for that, as national team coach Serge Pauwels explains.

For Van Aert, the Vuelta had been on the schedule for a long time. “Even if Wout had ridden the Tour, he would still have added the Vuelta to his schedule,” Pauwels told Het Nieuwsblad. “That’s always been the plan: to use the Vuelta as preparation for the World Championships. Wout is someone who handles a heavy workload and high training volume very well. By that I mean: all those days of racing make him better.”

The proof lies in history. “How many times have we seen him play a crucial role for Vingegaard or another general classification contender on the team during the third week of a Grand Tour? That proves he never runs out of steam in a Grand Tour, but rather gets better by racing day in and day out. And that’s something you can’t replicate in training.”

"That doesn't mean Wout won't be tired after three weeks of racing," the Belgian national team coach points out. "Maybe he'll come out of the Vuelta completely exhausted, just like everyone else. But then—starting on the seventh day after the final stage and lasting for about three weeks afterward—you get that supercompensation effect. So the World Championships in Montreal are coming at the perfect time.” The World Championships will take place on September 27. The Vuelta runs through September 13.

Winning the World Championships won’t be a walk in the park for Van Aert and Belgium, which will also start with Remco Evenepoel as a co-leader in Canada. Van Aert already finished second at the 2020 and 2023 World Championships, but a gold medal has eluded him so far. Evenepoel became world champion in Wollongong, Australia, in 2022. The Belgians’ chances have improved, however, due to injuries to Tadej Pogacar, who will likely not defend his title.

With his relatively heavy build, the mountain stages in Canada will be tough. But the Vuelta plays a role there, too. “The World Championships in Montreal feature 3,800 meters of elevation gain. That means weight will be a major factor. And Wout can more easily reach his target weight by riding a Grand Tour,” Pauwels explains. “That’s an extra advantage the Vuelta offers him.”

So far, we’ve mainly seen Van Aert in a support role in the Vuelta. He finished eighth in the opening time trial and third in the grueling seventh stage. He’s also wearing the green jersey, but aside from that, he’s helped Matthew Brennan secure two victories. With Pogacar out of the race, his task of securing the green jersey has become a bit easier, which bodes well for the World Championships.

"But I didn’t tell Wout, ‘On such-and-such a day, you need to take it easy with the World Championships in mind,’" says Pauwels. "The team has carte blanche in that regard, and I trust them completely. But at the beginning of the year, we did discuss everything thoroughly with Mathieu Heijboer, Wout’s coach. It’s very clear that the World Championships are a major goal for Wout and that he’s traveling to Canada as a co-leader alongside Remco—not just to fill out the team.”