Wout van Aert will continue to chase victory in the coming years at the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. In those races, the Belgian has, however, always come up against Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogacar in the past. But regarding the Tour of Flanders, Van Aert envisions a scenario in which he can beat both top contenders.
Even though Van der Poel and Pogacar have shared the last four editions of the Tour of Flanders between them, Van Aert still believes he can win the race. "If I’m not allowed to believe I can win the Tour of Flanders, then maybe only three riders in the world can," he says in an interview with Het Nieuwsblad. "It’s going to be very difficult to win the Tour, the same goes for Roubaix, but it remains a logical career goal for me. I’m still very close. So yes, I want to keep chasing that.”
Watching each other
Van Aert also believes he can be better in 2026 than last year, when he finished fourth in the Holy Grail. At that time, he had endured a tough winter after a heavy crash in the 2024 Vuelta. "I have to believe that I can start at a higher level than last year. All the circumstances are in place to be a little bit better."
"The race conditions could also work out better. Last year maybe it was against us that Mathieu had been a bit sick and, based on feeling, seemed somewhat less than Tadej. If Mathieu had been closer to Tadej, I think they would have neutralized each other for longer. They often work well together, but in the last ten kilometers, it becomes a different story. For me, the worst scenario was one of them riding away with a big gap after the Paterberg."
The Tour of Flanders doesn’t always have to go like that, according to Van Aert. "My first priority is to try to follow, but maybe there will also be an edition where they do look at each other. And then we are the first to be there."
Wout van Aert
