Wout van Aert notices loose gravel during Tirreno stage recon: “I don’t know if they’ll still do anything about it”

Van Aert took it relatively easy on an aero time trial setup with disc wheels over the 11.5-kilometre individual test between Lido di Camaiore and Viareggio. “Nothing special,” was his verdict at the finish. “Starting that early meant I could get a bit of extra rest afterwards. I felt fine, but I also started without any expectations. It was a good warm-up.”

“It was the plan to take it on in a fairly relaxed way and then look at it day by day,” the Visma | Lease a Bike rider explained. That starts on Tuesday, with the stage finishing in Lido di Camaiore. In the closing phase, the riders will face a gravel sector that also includes a fair amount of climbing.

“It’s a beautiful stage, but it will be tough at the end with that gravel. I’m looking forward to it,” Van Aert said. He had already gone to inspect the section on the day before Strade Bianche. “Back then it was very loose. I don’t know if they’re still going to do anything about it, but I think they added fresh gravel there relatively recently. It looked quite demanding.”

That also means he is not entirely sure whether the finale will really suit him and the other punchier riders. “That doesn’t necessarily have to be the case, but it is a stage I marked out. That gravel section is really uphill, and after that it doesn’t really descend towards the finish, with a tricky final kilometre as well. Because the stage before it is easier, I do hope we can be in the mix. But it suits Isaac del Toro and riders like him as well.”

Van Aert did take confidence from his tenth place in Strade Bianche. “I was satisfied with that, and it’s something I can keep building on here in Tirreno-Adriatico. It’s going to be a tough week anyway, with a few long stages. There are a couple of stages where I want to go for my own chances and hope to fight for the win, but we’re also aiming for a strong general classification with Matteo Jorgenson.”