Wout van Aert: "The World Championships are always special, but it has to make sense"

Van Aert secured a magnificent victory in Paris on Sunday, after which it was obviously time to relax a little for the man who had already completed the cyclo-cross winter, the spring classics, and the Giro. “Am I rested after the Tour? I tried, but I've already had a few small parties,” he laughed.

“I don't feel completely fresh. But today will be fine,” said the Belgian, who says that the victory in the final stage of the Tour de France has now sunk in. “That happened naturally, because I didn't see much else when I opened my cell phone. That was nice. I also understood better then why so many people were impressed. I was happy with my victory, but you don't see the bigger picture at that moment. That has sunk in now.”

While Van Aert was still recovering from the Tour de France, a discussion sparked in Belgium about Van Aert's chances at the World Championships in Rwanda. National coach Serge Pauwels expressed his interest via social media, while HLN reported that the Visma | Lease a Bike rider would not be in Rwanda at the end of September.

"I haven't thought about it yet, that's something for the coming days and weeks," Van Aert himself said. "I haven't spoken to the national coach yet. I had enough work answering messages. I haven't thought about it yet. These are difficult questions, you know. A World Championship is always special, but it has to make sense."