Van Aert impresses with huge training day in Tignes, but will it be enough for the Tour?

Van Aert shared his workload via Strava when he got back on the road after a few days of rest in Belgium following the Giro and started altitude training in Tignes on June 14. This followed a month of May, during which 4,163 kilometers and 56,502 meters of elevation gain were recorded on the clock, thanks, of course, to the Giro. He had never done so much in May before, something that Visma | Lease a Bike rectified with a lighter altitude training program in terms of distance: 2,366.7 kilometers in June, with 37,001 meters of elevation gain.

This brought Van Aert's total for May and June to 6,529.7 kilometers and 93,503 meters of elevation gain. In a sport where details matter, this aligns with his workload in 2023 and 2024. Last year, Van Aert covered 6,122.54 kilometers and 82,980 meters of elevation gain in preparation for the Tour de France. In 2023, he covered 6,371.9 kilometers and gained no less than 99,144 meters of elevation. In both editions of the Tour, he was in top form from the start. He will need to be ready on July 5 in Lille.

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The increase in training in recent years is striking, as evidenced by Van Aert's best Tour de France years in 2021 and 2022, during which he arrived in France having covered considerably fewer kilometers. In 2022, that was 5,846 kilometers, and in 2021, it was even 5,415.92 kilometers. The altitude meters were close to 100,000 on both occasions. In both editions, Van Aert won three stages, including the green points jersey in 2022. Jonas Vingegaard was also the overall winner twice.

Now that he is 30, he can handle more. Mathieu van der Poel has also stated that since reaching the magical age of 30, he can train longer without it affecting his results. When the entire Visma | Lease a Bike Tour team was in Tignes, Van Aert was able to keep up with the climbers. On June 21, he even set a Strava KOM record on the segment ‘Landry-Bonnegarde - Crois. Montvilliers’ (9.34 kilometers, 292 meters of elevation gain, and 1.6% average gradient).

Van Aert blasted through the segment in 18 minutes and 44 seconds, a quarter of a minute faster than teammate Sepp Kuss and even three-quarters of a minute faster than Matteo Jorgenson. It should be noted, however, that the efforts during such a training day are divided. Perhaps Van Aert did a block, and the others did not. His legs were clearly in good shape. There were no tough days over 200 kilometers for Wout, as he had already completed the Giro d'Italia.

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All signs were positive after Tignes. Van Aert was at his best when the Giro ended and clearly added some quality training in France. The big question is how severe the stomach flu will be and whether it will cost him a few percent in the first few days. If not, we can expect great things from the Belgian, who will once again fulfill his role as domestique at Visma | Lease a Bike but will undoubtedly also be allowed to ride for himself in sprints and difficult finishes.

Visma | Lease a Bike is going for the overall victory with Vingegaard and is bringing Jorgensen, Kuss, and Giro winner Simon Yates to Lille as climbing domestiques. Edoardo Affini and Victor Campenaerts are there for the flat stages, while Tiesj Benoot, like Van Aert, is the all-rounder of the group.