After a serious fall at Across Flanders was the spring of 2024 for Wout van Aert early on, just like a large part of the rest of the season. The Belgian superstar only returned to his old strength at the Vuelta a España, where he won three stages. A crash on the 16th stage set the all-rounder back again, however. He suffered a knee injury and had to end his season as a result. He struggled with the consequences into the winter.
The fact that I was back in top form at the Vuelta a España after my crash in Flanders last year gives me a lot of confidence that I will be back in top form in the classics. - Wout van Aert
Everything should be better in 2025. The goals are similar to those from 2024, with Van Aert dreaming of winning one of the cobblestone monuments. "The Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix are circled in red again," the Team Visma | Lease a Bike pro is quoted as saying on his team's website with regard to his race schedule.
Wout van Aert's 2025 race calendar at a glance
- Clásica Jaén (17.02.)
- Algarve tour (19.02.-23.02.)
- Omloop Het Nieuwsblad (01.03.)
- Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne (02.03.)
- E3 Saxo Classic (28.03.)
- Across Flanders (02.04.)
- Tour of Flanders (06.04.)
- Paris-Roubaix (13.04.)
- Arrow of Brabant (18.04. - subject to change)
- Amstel Gold Race (20.04. - subject to change)
- Giro d'Italia (09.05.-01.06.)
- Tour de France (05.07.-27.07.)
Van Aert is confident that his second Monument victory will come this year. "The fact that I was back in top form at the Vuelta a España after my crash in Flanders last year gives me a lot of confidence that I'll be in top form again in the classics." So far, the 30-year-old has only won one of the five cycling monuments (Milan-San Remo, Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Tour of Lombardy) with Milan-San Remo 2020. His great rival Mathieu van der Poel, on the other hand, already has six Monument victories to his name - three times in the Tour of Flanders, twice in Paris-Roubaix and once in Milan-San Remo.
Van Aert made his season debut on the road at the Clásica Jaén, followed by the Tour of the Algarve and the opening weekend with Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne as the start of the Belgian classics season. After that, the E3 Prize, the Tour of Flanders, the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix are on the agenda. Van Aert could also add the Arrow of Brabant (18 April) and the Amstel Gold Race (20 April) to his programme, as Visma-Performance manager Mathieu Heijboer recently revealed in the podcast "Wielerorakel". A final decision on participation in these two competitions will be made after Paris-Roubaix.
Wout van Aert has Giro d'Italia and Tour de France in his race programme
But that's not all. Van Aert also wants to shine in the grand tours in 2025. First of all, the 2024 debut at the Giro d'Italia will be made up for. "After the spring classics, I will take part in the Giro d'Italia, where we will fight for stage wins," explains van Aert. With such a victory, he would join the illustrious club of 111 riders who have won stages in all three Grand Tours in the history of cycling (Giro d'Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a España).
The Belgian will then also be involved in the Tour de France to help Jonas Vingegaard to his third overall victory. "After the Giro, an altitude training camp is on the programme so that we can start the Tour de France fresh. We will fight for a third Tour victory with Jonas," explains van Aert.
