Wout van Aert may possibly make different choices again in his approach to the classic spring season. The Italian WorldTour classics Strade Bianche and Milan-San Remo could thus return to his schedule.
Because Van Aert emerged unscathed from the road season, something that was not the case last year after his serious crash in the Vuelta a España, he can approach his winter and upcoming classics campaign differently than in previous years. With Strade and San Remo back on the program? "Those possibilities are definitely there. We're still figuring it out, and afterward, we’ll announce how we’ll proceed," confirms Visma | Lease a Bike’s Head of Performance and Van Aert’s coach Mathieu Heijboer to our website.
The two WorldTour classics were strikingly absent from Van Aert’s spring calendar over the past two years. The Italian one-day races gave way to a training camp aimed at peaking for the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. Van Aert hadn’t started Strade since 2021: in 2022, the combination with Paris-Nice wasn’t feasible, and in 2023 Van Aert fell ill in the lead-up to the Italian classic.
For Heijboer, everything is open for discussion. "All options are on the table again, both to do a classic preparation and plan some additional altitude training at another time. We haven’t made a decision on that yet, but the most important thing is: we need a long period during which Wout can train continuously and build fitness. Those periods must not be interrupted."
Van Aert still claimed his first and only Monument win in San Remo in 2020. That same season he also won Strade Bianche, which was held once in early August due to COVID.
Wout van Aert
