He's done it: Wout van Aert is now 31 years old. Since switching to road cycling in 2018, he has been chasing a victory in the "holy week", as the period with the two cycling classics Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix is called. He often came close. The eternal pursuer is now finally a winner.
The man for the rough stuff
No terrain is too difficult for Wout van Aert. Three world championship titles in cyclocross are proof of this. When it comes to riding technique, he is one of the exceptional riders in the peloton. It goes without saying that he has also been at the front of the extremely bumpy cobblestones at Paris-Roubaix for years.
The death of a friend
After winning the final sprint, the Belgian rider pointed his eyes to the sky. Van Aert once lost a friend and team-mate at Vérandas Willems-Crelan in the Paris-Roubaix race. On his debut at the ride through the Hell of the North in 2018, he had to witness how team-mate Michael Goolaerts crashed on the then Pavé section no. 28 from Viesly to Briastre. He died the same evening in hospital in Lille. It was later revealed that the 23-year-old professional cyclist had suffered a heart attack during the ride. The cycling companion, who died at an early age, was nicknamed "Goolie" - van Aert has made his memory a public mission in life with a hashtag: #ALL4GOOLIE
An eternal duel
Paris-Roubaix is considered Mathieu van der Poel's habitat. Van Aert has a very long rivalry with the Dutchman, who is almost the same age. They were already duelling for the world cyclocross titles in the junior classes. Both switched to road cycling late in life. And even at an advanced age, they continue their mud battles. Currently, van der Poel is in the lead: 8:3 world champion titles in the elite class of cyclocross cycling. The Belgian van Aert won the last World Championships in the winter season in 2018, and the rivalry was limited this time at Paris-Roubaix. This year, van der Poel was left behind early on after a puncture and then fought his way back. In the end, he was unable to intervene in the battle for victory. The three-time Roubaix winner finished 15 seconds behind van Aert in fourth place. "My race was over in the Arenberg forest," said van der Poel later. After a defect, he had to wait a very long time for replacement material.
Rare versatility
Van Aert is an all-rounder: he has won the cyclo-cross world championships three times, Milan-San Remo (2020), Strade Bianche (2020), Amstel Gold Race (2021) and Paris-Roubaix (2026) - plus a total of ten stage wins at the Tour de France - in the sprint, as a breakaway, in the individual time trial and, to top it all off, in the double crossing of Mont Ventoux in 2021. He also won three world championship medals in the road race (silver in 2020) and individual time trial (two silver medals) as well as Olympic silver in the road race in Tokyo 2021 and in the battle against the clock in Paris 2024.
The respect of the competition
Andreas Klier himself once finished second in the Tour of Flanders. The German would have given a lot to be at the top of one of the monuments himself. Asked by TOUR about his favourites for the cobbles before the race, he named Wout van Aert as the man he would like to see at the top. However, the 50-year-old from Upper Bavaria works as sports director for the rival team EF Education First. The reason: "It would fit well into his palmarès." In other words: The Fleming, who is popular with many fans, simply deserves to ennoble his career with a victory in one of the really big one-day races on cobblestones. "I think everyone wanted him to do it. Me too. It's very nice for him," said the unlucky former world champion Mathieu van der Poel at the finish about his long-time rival's victory. "Congratulations to Wout on a great victory," wrote Tadej Pogacar, who was defeated in the sprint, on Instagram. The Slovenian is still missing a success at Paris-Roubaix.
A public person
In 2018, van Aert gave TOUR an exclusive interview during his altitude training camp near Livigno. There he also spoke about how he and his wife Sarah de Bie and mother of his sons have decided to share many private insights into his life with the public via social media. He believes that he should give something back to the fans for their support and that in this way he fulfils the curiosity that already exists.
Andreas Kublik
Editor
