Wout van Aert would like to see an end to COVID-19 testing at races
Wout van Aert would like to see an end to COVID-19 testing at races
As more and more teams are being decimated by positive COVID-19 tests, Wout van Aert is worried about the continued impact on racing as the Spring Classics approach.
“The fear is there now. You don’t even have to be sick, one positive test and all your preparation has been for nothing,” Van Aert told Het Nieuwsblad from the balcony of his Tenerife hotel room. “I’m not going to present myself as an expert or virologist, but just now that everyone is celebrating that the corona crisis is over, we are going to the craziest measures we’ve had in two years.
“I think it’s time to let go of the whole test story and start looking at corona the way we view other diseases. We weren’t tested for the flu or a cold in the past. Of course, if you get sick, you go home. But you see how easily the virus goes around in the first races [of the season]. It is definitely something that will come into play this spring.”
Van Aert is coming to the end of a three-week training camp on Teide, Tenerife, where he’s been rooming with Primož Roglič. Unsurprisingly, the team is taking careful precautions, although they’ve been unable to keep the riders in single-occupancy rooms – a popular move during the pandemic, especially where team leaders are concerned.
“The Parador is the only hotel on top of the mountain,” Van Aert explained. “The rooms are very popular, so sleeping separately is not an option. Otherwise we would certainly have done it. We try to solve it: on arrival everyone is divided into small groups of four. Two pairs sleeping in the same rooms and eating together. People who arrive later on the training camp must also keep their distance from the group for five days. It all goes a long way, but you can only do what is practically feasible.”
There have been swathes of in-race positives in recent weeks which have forced riders and whole teams into isolation. Some have been symptomatic, but many others have not, and this is a concern as bigger races are now just around the corner.
“I understand the measures that are now in place, but it is a situation that is not sustainable,” said Van Aert. “If omicron remains what it is now – not super dangerous, if I may say so – then I would be sad if we have to go on for a whole year as we are now.”
In a week’s time, the sport’s Classics specialists will descend on ’t Kuipke in Gent for the presentation of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, the first race of the so-called ‘Opening Weekend’. Also in attendance will be some 4,000 fans and spectators, which while a welcome return to the norm, also brings enormous risk.
“That is a great example of how those two worlds are already clashing,” said Van Aert. “I’m super happy that there will be people again. Everyone in the pack missed that. It would be fantastic to have a normal spring, but if you also know what an infection means for your teammates and yourself, then you get scared when you read something like that.”
While he takes all necessary precautions, Van Aert is preparing for a big spring campaign with a Jumbo-Visma team that is tighter and stronger than ever.
“In principle, a lot is going to change for me. It should absolutely no longer be the intention that I end up alone in the early final or have to find the right moment on my own,” he explained. “With the quality we have now, that will no longer be the case. We are here on camp with six guys from the Classics group, which creates a bond. We work on the atmosphere, think about tactics. We have already had meetings in which we reviewed the races of previous years. To see how we raced ourselves and how the other teams raced. There is a bit more to it than the team that has just thought about making a few good purchases.”
This year, Van Aert has set his sights on a number of important races – no surprise – with the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix the major goals for the spring.
“I am 27 years old and starting my fourth season in the WorldTour. So I shouldn’t put myself under the pressure of now or never in those top classics,” Van Aert said. “It also helps that I’ve already won the – by the way – ‘smaller goals’. Actually, I can’t call them smaller goals, but if you’ve been world cyclo-cross champion three times, it is of course easier to miss a World Cup once.
“This year I will ride Gent-Wevelgem and Amstel again, but I have already won them. So I can work all the way towards the Ronde and Roubaix. That is the next step I want to take, a logical continuation of my career. I am ready to win those kinds of races.”
Van Aert has also been keeping an eye on some of his key rivals, whether they’re racing or training, most notably longtime rival Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) who has recently resumed training after a winter blighted by injury.
“First of all, I’m really happy to see him back on the bike. And really preparing,” Van Aert said. “He now also gives a little more insight (on Strava, ed.) into what he does than what we are used to from him. In the meantime, it is also really training for him and no longer just cycling. So I’m taking into account that we’ll see Mathieu in the spring, but I can’t estimate in what role. I am happy that he will be able to return to his level.”
He’s clearly also been keeping apace with the time trial debate. Van Aert knows all too well what a crash on a TT bike can mean after his own horrific, season-ending crash on stage 13 of the 2019 Tour de France. However, when asked about Chris Froome’s musings on whether TT bikes should be banned, he was ready with a clear opinion.
“Very simple: bullshit,” said Van Aert. “You can say: I no longer train with a time trial bike on the public road, because that is dangerous. That’s right, I can speak for myself about that. But as a rider you also have to take care of your own safety. That’s not to say it’s Bernal’s own fault for riding into a bus. That’s an extreme accident, but I think it’s a bit weird to ban the time trial bike because of that.
“Time trials are super interesting. It is the only discipline in cycling where you have a bit of the Formula 1 feeling and can really come up with innovation. Where it’s not just steps. Sometimes the price can be more than that.”
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