Updated March 14, 2026 05:49PM
Wout Van Aert has endured a less than ideal buildup to the season, suffering a fracture in the Mol cyclocross and then illness in late February.
Those setbacks meant he has been on the back foot in getting ready for the classics but, with Milan-San Remo just one week away, things are gradually looking better.
Van Aert was a solid 10th in Strade Bianche on March 7, his second day of competition this year. He was fifth on stage 4 of Tirreno-Adriatico on Thursday and then put in a big attack prior to the final climb on Saturday.
While he was caught before the summit and eventually finished 21st, he is sounding more upbeat and sees promising signs.
“There have been a few stages where I could do my thing,” he said after the stage, according to Sporza. “I was close to victory. In terms of how it felt, I’m satisfied.
“It was another tough stage,” he added, speaking about Saturday. “But I felt a lot better than yesterday.”
That is encouraging, both for he and his team.
Classic win long overdue
Van Aert has long been one of the best riders in the world, with an array of five star performances to his credit. These include his dramatic Tour de France stage win in 2022, with maillot jaune-clad rider leaping clear of the peloton close to the finish of stage 4 and holding everyone off to win.
He also played a pivotal part in teammate Jonas Vingegaard’s Tour success, helping to crack Tadej Pogačar on the Hautacam stage and taking third behind Vingegaard and Pogačar at the summit himself.
He’s clicked up ten Tour stage wins in all, including last year’s dramatic dropping of Pogačar on the Montmartre climb, and also won the points jersey in 2022.
But while his Tour haul dwarfs that of Van der Poel—who, incredibly, only has two Tour stages to his credit—his Dutch rival is by far superior when it comes to the classics.
He has eight monument wins in total, while Van Aert has just one: the 2020 Milan-San Remo. That’s a sparse haul for a rider so good, even if he has also taken Strade Bianche and Amstel Gold.
Victory in a race such as Flanders or Roubaix would be huge for him, and the idea of that motivates him greatly at this point of his career.
Tirreno-Adriatico was and is a key goal for the Visma-Lease a Bike team, not least with Matteo Jorgenson in third overall, but it is also a big deal for Van Aert. A stage win would be a bonus but, team duties aside, he’s primarily there to prepare for the classics.
“It is difficult to simulate this in training. Here the pace is set by someone and you have to respond to attacks,” he said.
He’ll get another chance on Sunday, although the final stage to San Benedetto del Tronto is mostly flat and more suited to the pure sprinters.
Big picture in mind, though, he’s happy and feeling increasingly good.
“Patience is a beautiful virtue,” he said.
Sprint bonus proves crucial
Visma-Lease a Bike appears to be gathering momentum after a period of bad luck. Jorgenson is riding strongly, Van Aert is heading in that direction and, over the border in France, Jonas Vingegaard is dominating Paris-Nice.
Jorgenson had hoped to echo the team leader in taking over at the top in Tirreno, but it proved impossible to recoup time on Del Toro. He was the only rider able to go with him inside the final kilometer, but the Mexican pressed onwards and took three seconds out of him by the line.
Jorgenson finished six seconds ahead of Giulio Pellizzari, the rider who started the day second overall, but his chance of overtaking the Italian evaporated when Tobias Johannessen bridged across to the American and outsprinted him for second.
That cost Jorgenson a two second time bonus; the difference between second and third overall at the end of the stage was just one second.
“It went pretty well today,” he said. “We started the day with the ambition of aiming for the overall classification. I thought it was smartest to attack on the final climb, especially with the strong headwind in the last ten kilometer.
“Unfortunately, I didn’t have the legs I had yesterday, but Isaac was simply the strongest. I’m grateful for the team’s support and happy to finish on the podium.”
Sunday finishes out the race and Jorgenson will do what he can to pick up a time bonus and move to second overall. Either way, both he and Van Aert exit the race in fine form, heading for their next event with more confidence.
For both riders, that is Milan-San Remo. Van der Poel and Tadej Pogačar may be the big favorites, but with Visma-Lease a Bike’s fortunes on the rise, Jorgenson and Van Aert will hope to be part of the fight.