After a hugely encouraging Tour of Flanders performance, Visma-Lease a Bike are feeling upbeat and optimistic about Wout van Aert's chances at Paris-Roubaix next Sunday.
The Belgian finished fourth in the Tour of Flanders after an aggressive race and strong team performance. He attacked on the final ascent of the Old Kwaremont ahead of race winner Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and was able to stay the chase group behind the Slovenian, with only Mads Pedersen and Mathieu van der Poel stopping him finishing on the podium.
Although Visma-Lease a Bike produced one of the most powerful team performances with Tiesj Benoot telling Cyclingnews after Sunday's race they had no regrets and that 'We did everything we could as a team, just one or two riders were stronger."
Team performance manager Mathieu Heijboer looked towards Paris-Roubaix with growing confidence.
“It seemed like he was getting better and better in the final. We have been working on that in recent months. It is great to see that this was visible now," Heijboer told Wielerflits.
"Hopefully that will continue next week. Paris-Roubaix suits him very well. His form will probably improve as well. That means we can work towards next week with confidence."
Heijboer also claimed that Paris-Roubaix was the Classic "that suits Wout best, and that's been the case his entire career."
While Van Aert has been more consistent in Flanders, with five top tens in the past seven years, he has only finished on the podium once, in the runner's up spot in 2020.
In comparison, Van Aert has finished on the podium of Paris-Roubaix twice: back in 2023, when he was third, and in 2022, when he completed the Hell of the North in second.
Belgian media analysts are also encouraged by Van Aert's performance, with former Classics specialist racer Sep Vanmarcke telling Nieuwsblad that “Van Aert will definitely watch the finale of the Tour again and he will get a huge mental boost from it."
Nieuwsblad also pointed out that the presence of teammate Dylan van Baarle, a former Roubaix winner ahead of Van Aert back in 2022, who is rapidly recovering from his bad crash in the early season could prove to be a major factor for the Belgian next Sunday.
Nieuwsblad added that Van Aert should be able to fully reap the benefits of his altitude training by Paris-Roubaix.
The effect is generally most notable after 10-14 days and given Van Aert's return date from Teide will come on Wednesday, by Sunday it should have taken full effect.
As a talented cyclocross rider, Van Aert should also have an advantage if the expected rain leaves the Paris-Roubaix cobbles wet and slippery.
As former double Roubaix winner Sean Kelly also noted in his Cyclingnews Classics column on Monday, riders who are more heavily built, as is Van Aert's case, are apt to suffer much less on the far flatter Roubaix course, and above all there are no really steep gradients like in Flanders' toughest cobbled climbs.
However, on the downside, Nieuwsblad reminded its readers that to judge from both Dwars door Vlaanderen and Flanders small bunch sprints, Van Aert's speed in the final kilometres does not seem to be as impressive as it used to be.
That would make a solo finish in Roubaix by far the best option for the Belgian, as he continues the quest for for his first Classics victory since E3 Harelbeke back in 2023.
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