For elite cyclists, 2024 appears set to be a improbable yr.
There’s the Grand Excursions as regular, after all, in addition to the UCI World Tour to contest. The Olympic Video games in Paris will present the icing on the cake.
For Wout van Aert, alternative knocks. The 29-year-old will, assuming he’s match and injury-free, trip in no less than one of many Grand Excursions and characterize Belgium on the Olympics within the street race and time trial disciplines.
And but, it’s in barely lower-key environment wherein certainly one of his greatest probabilities of main glory lies…
Homecoming King
The Tour of Flanders, a part of the UCI World Tour, has been held for greater than a century now, remaining one of the vital intriguing races on the calendar because of its gorgeous vistas and that distinctive cobblestone terrain.
Its record of winners reads like a who’s who of Belgian biking, so Van Aert would love so as to add his identify to the roll of honour. At sportsbook betting odds of 6/1 he’s fancied to do precisely that, though sturdy competitors will naturally come from defending champion Tadej Pogacar (9/4) and Mathieu van der Poel (3/1).
Eddy Merckx, Johan Museeuw and Rik Van Steenbergen are all a number of winners of the Tour of Flanders, with the race gained 69 instances by Belgians – the subsequent most profitable nation is the Netherlands with 12 victories. So expectations of a Van Aert triumph on residence soil are excessive.
This yr’s champion noticed you, heard you, and appreciated you 🙌#TourOfBritain 🔴🔵⚪ pic.twitter.com/cIVXwVmHAT
— The Tour of Britain 🇬🇧 (@TourofBritain) September 11, 2023
He’ll, after all, need to discover a well beyond Pogacar over the 170-mile course. The Slovenian turned solely the third man to win the Tour de Flanders and Tour de France throughout their careers earlier this yr, powering to a 16-second victory over Van Der Poel and leaving Van Aert, Mads Pedersen and co trailing greater than a minute behind.
Can the Tour of Britain champion upend the formbook in 2024?
Daring Decisions
Amid all of the thrilling racing accessible subsequent yr, elite cyclists could have some tough scheduling selections to make.
The Tour de France will conclude on July 21, leaving simply six days till the Olympic time trial occasion and fewer than a fortnight till the street race, which is able to see individuals ascend greater than 2,800m of elevation achieve across the French capital.
Selections, selections then… how will one of the best within the enterprise handle their diaries?
For Van Aert, it has been closely rumoured that he’ll skip the Tour de France altogether – an enormous shock, given the race’s status, the 9 earlier stage wins to his identify and the truth that, as a multi-disciplinarian out on the street, the Belgian is likely one of the strongest contenders to finish the domination of Pogacar and 2023 champion Jonas Vingegaard.
🤩 Right here it’s, the official route of the #TDF2024!
🤩 Voici le parcours officiel du #TDF2024 ! pic.twitter.com/3ORf31AS4T
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) October 25, 2023
That’s a troublesome value to pay for juggling your schedule, however the comfort prize is that it’ll allow Van Aert to enter the Giro D’Italia, a race which might go well with his velocity whereas minimising the quantity of climbing to be completed.
On condition that others are set to skip the Giro in favour of the Tour de France, an opportunity to push for a Grand Tour victory could current itself to the Belgian in what ought to be a stellar yr.
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