Wout van Aert: Jumbo-Visma rider outlines his 2023 plans and says he wants to claim a 'big fish' in classics
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ByEurosport
Published 24/11/2022 at 14:26 GMT
Wout van Aert has been outlining his goals for 2023 and suggests his primary aim is to win one of the two classics that he has never won before. The Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix are high on his list of priorities. The Jumbo-Visma rider also added that he is very likely to race at the Tour de France - which he says winning at "never gets boring" - and the World Championships in the summer.
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Wout van Aert says he wants to focus on top classics in 2023 as he looks to claim a "big fish" next year.
Van Aert won Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and the E3 Saxo Bank Classic in 2022 and achieved a third-place finish in Liege-Bastogne-Liege. He missed the Tour of Flanders in April due to contracting Covid-19.
The Belgian has been discussing his 2023 plans and says he is targeting victory at Flanders and Paris-Roubaix - where he came second this year - which are both competitions he has never won.
He said both classics "are obviously the big goals" and added: "Maybe next year I will collect fewer top 10 places, but I will catch that big fish."
The Belgian has also suggested competing at the Tour de France and World Championships next summer are possibilities.
He said: "The Worlds will be only two weeks after the Tour next year, so that is a difficult combination, but it’s possible and has already been proven successful.
"Winning a Tour [de France] stage never gets boring."
Van Aert suggested he could skip the season opener - Omloop Het Nieuwsblad - next year.
He also rejected the idea that new Jumbo-Visma signing Dylan van Baarle will spark an internal rivalry.
"It’s just important that someone from our team wins," Van Aert argued. "That may sound a bit corny, but that’s just the way it is.
"A team can never be too strong and I am really looking forward to racing together with him. I think we are very complementary."
Van Aert will make his cyclo-cross 2022-23 debut in Antwerp next month on December 4. He also has the Herentals cyclo-cross on January 4 and the World Championships on February 5 pencilled in his winter calendar.
But Van Aert is not placing great expectations on himself after suffering a bout of bronchitis recently which has disrupted his preparation.
"I won't be good until Christmas," he added. "If I finish 10th in Antwerp, I will not be disappointed. That would actually be normal.
"Whether I win or not, I've already established my cyclo-cross career. Suppose I finish 10th in Antwerp – which I hope not – then there will be some criticism, but I would consider it normal."
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