Wout van Aert raises alarms before the Tour: "there is very little you can hide"

The victory of Visma-Lease a Bike in the team time trial of the third stage of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes left a difficult image to ignore: Wout van Aert dropped from the group just eight kilometers after the start. An episode that, combined with the feelings he had already shown in the first days of the race, has fueled doubts about his form less than a month before the Tour de France.

Van Aert's form raises concerns less than a month before the Tour de France

The Belgian had tried to downplay his discreet performance in the opening stage, where he lost more than 24 minutes to the best. He then explained that he arrived at the race after suffering a fall during a training session with his time trial bike, an accident that left visible wounds on his arm and right leg. However, as the days go by, it seems increasingly evident that this incident alone does not explain the difficulties he is encountering on the bike.

A time trial that exposed his current shortcomings

The 28.4-kilometer team trial seemed like a good opportunity for Van Aert to regain confidence. However, when Visma-Lease a Bike increased the pace on the first climb of the course, the Belgian was unable to keep up with his teammates.

After the stage, he openly acknowledged his problems in statements to Sporza: “I have mixed feelings. It’s nice to be on the podium with my teammates, but I don’t feel like I was able to contribute much to the team.”

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There were no mechanical failures, falls, or any incidents that justified his loss of contact. He simply did not have the legs necessary to keep up with the riders leading the Dutch formation.

“On the first climb, it was immediately too fast for me. In a team time trial, there’s very little you can hide.”

The situation surprised even within Visma-Lease a Bike. Mathieu Heijboer, the team’s performance manager, admitted that the initial plan was very different.

“It happened sooner than we expected. We were confident we could take our strong men to the last climb.”

The contrast with his teammates increases concern

The situation became even more striking because, despite losing Van Aert very early and later suffering a flat tire from Ben Tulett, Visma-Lease a Bike ended up winning the stage with a nine-second advantage over Netcompany-INEOS.

For Van Aert himself, that result further highlighted the level of the teammates who were able to stay at the front.

“When you ride with guys like that, it can hurt. If you see that I haven’t really been able to do my part, that Ben has a flat, and yet we still achieve the best time, that says a lot about how strong those guys are.”

As Matteo Jorgenson finished the team’s performance to move closer to the lead in the race, the eyes inevitably turned towards the Belgian and his progress towards the Tour de France.

Van Aert had already acknowledged before starting the French test that he was behind his best values. Three days later, the doubts have not disappeared.

“You don’t count on something like this in advance, but we have to stay calm and keep doing the right things. It’s not pleasant.”

The team is trying to convey calmness and reminds that the race is part of their preparation process. Heijboer insisted that the main goal remains to arrive at the Tour in the best possible condition.

“It’s a bit disappointing, we have to be honest. But we are looking at the bigger picture. Wout is using this race to improve and he will improve.”

The most significant part of his statements came when evaluating his own performance. The Paris-Roubaix winner acknowledged that he was already expecting a complicated week, but not to this extent.

“I knew it was going to be a tough week, but I thought I would be at a better level than I have shown today. Each day is a snapshot of the moment, and today’s has not been good.”

A reflection that is especially relevant considering that the Grand Départ of the Tour de France in Barcelona is now less than four weeks away.

When directly asked if he can still reach his best version for the French round, Van Aert avoided sending optimistic messages.

“I find it difficult to answer that right now. Today has been a disappointing day for me. We’ll see how everything evolves. I have no intention of sitting back and accepting it.”

The upcoming stages of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes will therefore be an important test to measure whether the Belgian is simply going through a normal phase of building form or if there is indeed a reason for concern regarding one of the major objectives of his season.