Van Aert still has will to win: "But he has less killer instinct than his opponents"

Van Aert is a phenomenon on the road, but he has also acquired something of the 'eternal number two' status: even though he has won an impressive 49 races, he has finished second 78 times. Is it the Belgian's killer instinct? "It has always been there, both on and off the bike, but I have to admit that I have it less than some of my opponents," Van Aert honestly admits to Het Laatste Nieuws.

Is that a disadvantage? And what exactly is going on? The team captain of Visma | Lease a Bike explains exactly what he means by this statement. "I want to win and be the best, but unlike others for whom winning is everything, I also try to finish second, third, fourth, or fifth. I have always had to fight for my place, and I still do. I will never give up, stop sprinting, or hold back when I feel I can no longer win. I will always sprint to the finish line, as I did on Sunday in the Tour of Flanders."

Winning, therefore, remains an essential aspect of Van Aert's ambitions. If he loses, he will be very upset. He himself believes that dealing with loss is one of his weak points. "If I'm honest with myself, I don't think I'm very good at it. After a defeat, I can linger in my disappointment for a few days and find it difficult to get past it, especially in one-day races."

It's different in the grand tours. The next day, you must be back on the bike: there is no time to focus on a lost opportunity. "That is one of the reasons I come into my own in the grand tours. On the other hand, when I just miss out on victory in the Tour of Flanders, I can mope about it for a long time and find it hard to turn the page."

It provides a wonderful glimpse into the mentality of the cyclist, who quickly grew into one of the absolute leaders at Visma | Lease a Bike. "When I arrived here in 2019, I placed myself respectfully among all the other leaders, but through my performance and because I felt that the people in this team appreciated that I dared to speak my mind and be critical, that has evolved into a leadership role," he says about his early years with the Dutch team.

As a leader, Van Aert takes on great responsibility, not only in the race but also beyond the competitions. He also often has the last word in the race meetings. "When I worked for another team leader, I always thought it came across stronger when that leader himself addressed his teammates and said how he wanted things done, rather than just nodding to what the sports director had already decided."

With his aggressive racing style, versatility, and pure class, Van Aert is one of the most popular riders in Belgium. That also means he is always under close scrutiny. There is always something written about van Aert, and he can't escape it. "Less than before, but I follow most of it. I have been given all the advice: don't read the newspapers, but everywhere I go - the bakery or a friend's house - they start talking about it, or I get to hear it in a pre-race interview at the next race: 'What do you think of what person X said?'"

"I can't escape it, so it's all about how I deal with it. And not about how I try to avoid those things. The older I get, the easier it is." He cannot handle when too much attention is paid to him. "Take the opening weekend, for example. Afterward, I felt that the news was that I had a 'bad' opening weekend. At the same time, Soren Waerenskjold won the Omloop wonderfully, and almost nothing about that was in the newspaper on Monday. Too bad."