Wout Van Aert's Cyclocross Comeback Ignites 2025 Ambitions

[@Andy_ATB]

I'm not sure winning two races in favourable conditions will have much bearing on what happens on the road in the spring. He's always excelled in muddy, non technical courses.....He has more raw power than everybody else.

[@whitneytreeservicevt]

I hope he wins them both!🏁

[@jamaalwarsame8130]

King 🤴 wout vanart 💪 💪 💪

[@Pmor75]

He looks like he has dropped some weight!

[@Thaddeus_Howe]

Visma's experiment with having him go for sprints but not the green jersey at the 2024 Tour failed spectacularly, and with sprint competition the best its ever been and more breakaway-favorable Giro and Tour routes this year, it seems like a wise choice for WvA to slim down a bit and target medium mountain, hilly, and dynamic sprint stages only, and leave the bunch sprints to Kooij.

[@aboumawiyah]

Greg, would you have hugged him at the finish line with all the mud?

[@jasonhendrickson2289]

It's anybody's race when MVDP doesn't show up

[@ramspace]

Impacting mud is noticeably safer.

[@werb24]

Hahahaha how does this show anything? His main competitor is DESTROYING the pack and this guy is barely pulling away from the lower tier guys. Hes a dude who has lost a step. The tell tail sign is always crashing. It feels like luck but it isn’t. He’s a great rider but he is obviously on the down slide.

[@TalleyrandsPuppet]

Did you watch? He crushed.

[@werb24]

@ I did. He raced well. It fits him when there’s sand or mud. But honestly he’s not looking like a threat for the classics based on this.

[@TalleyrandsPuppet]

@ sand and mud favors the strong. Hard to see how that’s a problem in the classics. He had one injury prone season; that’s not “obviously on the down slide”. In the races before his crash last spring, he was 3rd, 1st, and 3rd.

[@werb24]

@@TalleyrandsPuppet He hasn't seriously challenged MDVP or Pogi post MDVP's injury season. He's also had significant crashes the last two seasons. This happens to guys when they are on the downside. Doesn't mean they can't put together a performance, but they tend to slowly decline once that happens. It's indicative of poor positioning and loss of mental clarity. I can definitely be wrong, but that's the vibe. His performances in cross this year haven't been overly impressive, especially as a gauge for his success in the classics - considering the guy he's primarily fighting can just ride him off his wheel in any cross race.