Wout van Aert sees Tirreno-Adriatico wall race as good training for Milan-San Remo

On Thursday afternoon, Wout van Aert boosted his confidence with a fifth place in Tirreno-Adriatico, but the all-rounder from Visma | Lease a Bike is not expected to be at the front again today. The four tough climbs and over 4,000 meters of elevation on the way to Mombaroccio are too much, but according to Van Aert, they can serve another purpose.

"I think it’s mainly for the GC contenders, because it goes up and down all day," the Kempen rider honestly told Belgian VTM. "There are a lot of steep climbs that might barely fit my capabilities on their own. But the succession of climbs will probably make it a battle between the GC men only."

How does Van Aert prefer to approach his day in Tirreno-Adriatico? "It can be a good training session to really go deep today with next week in mind. You simply cannot compare the route here to Milan-San Remo, that’s true. There, the climbs are all very fast and not steep, while today it’s the opposite. But it can still help."

Visma | Lease a Bike still has Matteo Jorgenson well placed for the overall classification. The American follows just over half a minute behind leader Matteo Jorgenson and will therefore be the man to watch.