National Coach Makes Last-Ditch Effort to Secure Wout Van Aert for Rwanda Worlds

Will Wout van Aert race at the Road World Championships in Rwanda this September or not? The strong rider himself leans more towards a 'no,' but national coach Serge Pauwels has not yet given up hope on his Belgian ace. On Sunday evening, immediately after Van Aert's victory on the Champs-Élysées, Pauwels launched a charm offensive via Instagram.

Pauwels shared the elevation profile of the final climb of the World Championships in Rwanda on his account, followed immediately by the stats of the Montmartre climb where Van Aert launched his decisive attack for stage victory in the final Tour de France stage. The selector noticed striking similarities between the two climbs and made a not-so-subtle hint towards Van Aert.

It has been known for some time that the Visma | Lease a Bike rider is still hesitant and would only make his decision about a possible participation after the Tour. Some experts say that the course would be too tough for classics riders like Van Aert, but Pauwels—who already scouted Rwanda in the spring—does not fully agree with that. "It suddenly struck me that the Montmartre climb is a bit of a copy of that Kimihurura climb," Pauwels says in an interview with our website.

"In Rwanda, in the local circuit, three kilometers from the finish, there is a cobbled climb that I previously described as a double Bosberg. But you can better compare it with Montmartre. Amazingly, the gradient of both climbs is 5.9%. The Butte de Montmartre is 1.1 kilometers long, and the Kimihurura climb is barely a hundred meters longer.. There is also some twisting and turning, just like in Paris. And because the rainy season starts in September, the chance of similar conditions is not small. I found that truly striking," Pauwels laughs. "That’s why I decided to share this observation with the world."

Can the national coach convince Wout van Aert? — Photo: Cor Vos

The national coach wants to keep persuading his protégé to make the trip to Rwanda. "Last night at 2 a.m., he responded to my message with a smiling emoji," Pauwels says. "I don’t want to put too much pressure on him. I also feel it’s more likely a 'no,' but it is my job to go to extremes to motivate him. He is a very important rider for our country."

Meeting planned this week
But the situation is more complicated than that. "I also understand that for him it’s a question of: is there still enough energy in the tank? It has been a tough build-up after the crash in the Vuelta. Then he had somewhat of a disrupted winter, followed by a spring, Giro, and Tour. In his condition, it’s not easy to go to a World Championship as a pleasure trip or kind of bonus."

"But I say this only because I believe the course is genuinely doable for him. Probably not in all scenarios, but if he is in top shape and the race unfolds somewhat to his advantage, it can happen. Especially after what we saw in Paris. There aren’t many riders who can say they dropped Pogacar on a climb. And yes, I also know that Rwanda's circuit includes a Cauberg-like climb and then there’s Mount Kigali. But a good Wout can handle that too."

Although HLN writes that Van Aert has meanwhile decided to definitely skip the Worlds and will resume competition at the Tour of Germany; Pauwels still plans a meeting with Van Aert later this week. "The intention is to coordinate again and catch up. And for me, his choice doesn’t have to be final either. For someone like him, you always have to leave room. Even if circumstances lead him to change his mind later, dialogue is always possible."