Cycling news - Wout van Aert to make Tour of Britain debut as preparation for World Championships in Flanders
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Published 18/08/2021 at 12:10 GMT
The Belgian shapes up as one of the favourites for the week-long race and is the second rider confirmed after Mark Cavendish. Van Aert could contend in both the time trial and the road race at the 2021 World Championships, while the rescheduled Paris-Roubaix will also be a target in a busy autumn for the multi-talented rider.
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Wout van Aert will ride the 2021 Tour of Britain as the Belgian makes his debut at the week-long stage race.
The multi-talented Jumbo-Visma star is the second rider confirmed for the race, which begins on September 5 in Penzance.
Mark Cavendish was the first rider to be confirmed for the race, which finishes in Aberdeen.
Van Aert will continue a busy, successful year and shapes up as a potential contender for double glory at the World Championships in Flanders later in September.
The Olympic road race silver medallist has been confirmed as the leader of a strong Belgian team to contest their home road race on a 268km course beginning in Antwerp and finishing close to Leuven, to the east of Brussels.
Van Aert may also hope to better his silver medal from the last Worlds in the time trial, having taken victory on his time trial bike on the penultimate stage at the Tour de France.
That was the second of three victories at the Tour, the first of which came after two ascents of the famed Mont Ventoux, before van Aert triumphed on the showpiece Champs-Élysées sprint finale in Paris.
Long-time sparring partner Mathieu van der Poel is the defending Tour of Britain champion.
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Van Der Poel sprints to victory on Stage 8 to seal GC triumph at Tour of Britain
The event was not held last year due to the coronavirus pandemic, with van der Poel taking victory in 2019.
The Dutchman's autumn business has not yet been confirmed though Alpecin-Fenix will have a presence at the race, which could tee up another duel between the Benelux duo, so often rivals both on the road and in cyclo-cross.
Julian Alaphilippe, the 2018 winner, could also be part of the race as a team mate of Cavendish at Deceuninck-QuickStep.
It is a busy autumnal cycling schedule, further bolstered by the repositioning of Paris-Roubaix, which will now take place on October 3.
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