Wuyts writes off van Aert in battle against van der Poel: "A painful conclusion for the fans"

In an interview with Wielerrevue, the Belgian cycling journalist said he enjoyed the spring, even though the main question in every classic was: will it be van der Poel or Pogacar? According to Wuyts, this is something we should not take for granted. "It may appear effortless for van der Poel, but that is not true. It is the result of hard work every single day. Mathieu can push himself to the limit every day to achieve his sporting goals."

The entire peloton works hard, but Wuyts refers to van der Poel's efforts as 'serious hard work.' With his approach in recent years, he is clearly showing his best form, which van Aert has been unable to achieve in his beloved classics due to various injuries. "Van Aert realized long ago that he can't measure up to van der Poel. And he also knows that he may never beat van der Poel in the future," he says bluntly.

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"Van der Poel has surpassed him in the classics," says Wuyts, who thinks highly of van Aert. "That has to do with his charisma and how he presents himself. Wout is not a braggart and expresses himself very well in interviews, usually modestly. And what I know for sure is that Wout never beats around the bush. If he doesn't win, he acknowledges that he has been defeated by someone better than him."

It's also why van Aert still has many fans, sometimes resulting in unpleasant incidents directed at van der Poel, who, according to Wuyts, is also a 'great guy’ with a 'good-natured character.' According to the Belgian, all the swearing, spitting, and throwing of objects by van Aert's fanbase is due to the conclusion that the Visma star has lost ground to van der Poel. "Still, I think he has learned to live with that. But for the fans, it's a very painful conclusion."

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For fans of van der Poel, the Dutch rider will be back on the road on June 8 in the Critérium du Dauphiné despite recently suffering a fracture in his wrist while mountain biking. He will then head to the Tour de France, facing van Aert. Van Aert has just completed the Giro d'Italia and will not be riding any more races before the Tour de France, where he will try to help Jonas Vingegaard to his third Tour victory.