Wout van Aert appreciation thread
Let's start with his 2020 palmares, which is just unreal:
2020
1st Time trial, National Road Championships
1st Milan–San Remo
1st Strade Bianche
Tour de France
1st Stages 5 & 7
Critérium du Dauphiné
1st JerseyPoints classification
1st Stage 1
UCI Road World Championships
2nd Silver medal Road race
2nd Silver medal Time trial
2nd Tour of Flanders
3rd Milano–Torino
8th Gent–Wevelgem
This also misses out being the most helpful and strongest domestique in the Tour whilst still finishing 20th overall (
), knocking out casual top 5 finishes in high mountain stages and time trials, all whilst winning sprint finishes and smashing himself for the Roglic's GC efforts.This season thus far, he's been in 14 races, with 4 stage wins, 9 podiums, and he's never finished lower than 13th.
This includes winning Strade Bianche, a stage and 2nd overall in T-A, 3rd in Milan San Remo, a win in G-W, top 10 flanders, 2nd in the Waalse Pijl and a win in Amstel gold.
The guy is unreal and he wears his talent fairly lightly.
Plus he just looks so cool and calm on the bike, regardless of what effort he's putting in.
So here's to the best overall cyclist I certainly have seen in my 20 odd years of watching pro-cycling.
Comments
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And 2nd in the Cyclocross worlds.0
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That was the other van this year.rick_chasey said:
This includes winning Strade Bianche,1 -
He won two stages in T-A, with three further top 3 stage finishes.0
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In fairness he said the 2020 seasonTheBigBean said:
That was the other van this year.rick_chasey said:
This includes winning Strade Bianche,0 -
He didn't even have the best 2020 on his team
“New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!0 -
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You're bringing memes but no receiptsrick_chasey said:
“New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!0 -
Came 8th in GW though
“New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!0 -
And then moved on to the 2021 season, noting a victory that didn't happen.shirley_basso said:
In fairness he said the 2020 seasonTheBigBean said:
That was the other van this year.rick_chasey said:
This includes winning Strade Bianche,1 -
You place more value on domestique duties than me.rick_chasey said:0 -
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If he's not your favourite rider, I don't know what sport you are watching.
All round, he was the most impressive last year. But for wins - he didn't match a GT and a monument.0 -
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I'm not so sure, I think it is more that as a major GT contender he gets less chance to demonstrate his range. I think he could compete in pretty much any of the Classics.rick_chasey said:Roglic is a much narrower rider.
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I think he is incredibly talented, a hugely capable rider and it seems he has no major weaknesses. He is exceptional, perhaps even extraordinary.
But I'm still not convinced that he is "the best cyclist we've ever seen this century". This century has had some great riders and he is around at the same time as MvdP - who maybe hasn't done as much in grand tours as WvA, but has done more in MTB riding as far as I know.2 -
Roglic has 2 tricks. Great power-weight efforts at an hour long and being able to sprint at the end of that.Pross said:
I'm not so sure, I think it is more that as a major GT contender he gets less chance to demonstrate his range. I think he could compete in pretty much any of the Classics.rick_chasey said:Roglic is a much narrower rider.
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I like WvA, I think Rick's tongue may be some way in his cheek when he described him as the greatest of the 21st century but he's still got time to join the great 1 day riders.[Castle Donington Ladies FC - going up in '22]0
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Who do you put higher?DeVlaeminck said:I like WvA, I think Rick's tongue may be some way in his cheek when he described him as the greatest of the 21st century but he's still got time to join the great 1 day riders.
We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
- @ddraver0 -
I won't be convinced if you don't post a pic of him with the background desaturated. I also want a pic of a lovely horse.
PS - have you broken the news to Tomeke yet? I hope he takes it wellWarning No formatter is installed for the format1 -
Look at who makes up the rest of the top 3 when WvA makes the podium. It's anyone from Demare, Sam Bennett, Cees Bol, Boassen Hagen, Gaviria, Matthews, through Alaphillippe, van der Poel, Hirschi, Kwiatkowski to Formolo, Pogacar, Carapaz. And Ganna.0
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For context, this was Gilbert's 2011. WvA needs to keep doing it before he wins the greatest of the 21st century award. He is definitely in the starting line-up though.
2011
1st UCI World Tour
National Road Championships
1st MaillotBélgica.PNG Road race
1st MaillotBélgica.PNG Time trial
1st Jersey black.svg Overall Tour of Belgium
1st Stage 3
1st Jersey yellow.svg Overall Ster ZLM Toer
1st Stage 4
1st Liège–Bastogne–Liège
1st Amstel Gold Race
1st La Flèche Wallonne
1st Clásica de San Sebastián
1st Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec
1st Montepaschi Strade Bianche
1st Brabantse Pijl
1st Grand Prix de Wallonie
Tour de France
1st Stage 1
Held Jersey yellow.svg after Stage 1
1st Stage 1 Volta ao Algarve
2nd Overall Eneco Tour
1st Stage 3
3rd Milan–San Remo
3rd Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal
8th Giro di Lombardia
9th Overall Tirreno–Adriatico
1st Stage 5
9th Tour of Flanders1 -
For a "GOAT" or "GO This Century", we also need to include the races where he did not make the podium.kingstongraham said:Look at who makes up the rest of the top 3 when WvA makes the podium. It's anyone from Demare, Sam Bennett, Cees Bol, Boassen Hagen, Gaviria, Matthews, through Alaphillippe, van der Poel, Hirschi, Kwiatkowski to Formolo, Pogacar, Carapaz. And Ganna.
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Gilbert would not remotely be able to finish top 3 in both a TDF mountain stage (whilst being the main domestique) nor a TDF time trial, nor winning bunch sprints.TheBigBean said:For context, this was Gilbert's 2011. WvA needs to keep doing it before he wins the greatest of the 21st century award. He is definitely in the starting line-up though.
2011
1st UCI World Tour
National Road Championships
1st MaillotBélgica.PNG Road race
1st MaillotBélgica.PNG Time trial
1st Jersey black.svg Overall Tour of Belgium
1st Stage 3
1st Jersey yellow.svg Overall Ster ZLM Toer
1st Stage 4
1st Liège–Bastogne–Liège
1st Amstel Gold Race
1st La Flèche Wallonne
1st Clásica de San Sebastián
1st Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec
1st Montepaschi Strade Bianche
1st Brabantse Pijl
1st Grand Prix de Wallonie
Tour de France
1st Stage 1
Held Jersey yellow.svg after Stage 1
1st Stage 1 Volta ao Algarve
2nd Overall Eneco Tour
1st Stage 3
3rd Milan–San Remo
3rd Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal
8th Giro di Lombardia
9th Overall Tirreno–Adriatico
1st Stage 5
9th Tour of Flanders0 -
This year so far that's only 5 out of 15 races.singleton said:
For a "GOAT" or "GO This Century", we also need to include the races where he did not make the podium.kingstongraham said:Look at who makes up the rest of the top 3 when WvA makes the podium. It's anyone from Demare, Sam Bennett, Cees Bol, Boassen Hagen, Gaviria, Matthews, through Alaphillippe, van der Poel, Hirschi, Kwiatkowski to Formolo, Pogacar, Carapaz. And Ganna.
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I think the palmares comparisons miss a big portion of the breadth and depth of WvA.
There is basically no terrain or format where he is not making a material impact on the outcome, and except for an HC mountain top finish (where he will still be thinning out the peloton significantly) it's not unrealistic to see him challenging for the win.
That's what's so amazing about him. He can do it all.0 -
Gilbert did win LBL and Lombardy - let's see how WvA does when he rides those. As I have said before, he needs to stop messing around being a domestique and focus on winning things.rick_chasey said:
Gilbert would not remotely be able to finish top 3 in both a TDF mountain stage (whilst being the main domestique) nor a TDF time trial, nor winning bunch sprints.TheBigBean said:For context, this was Gilbert's 2011. WvA needs to keep doing it before he wins the greatest of the 21st century award. He is definitely in the starting line-up though.
2011
1st UCI World Tour
National Road Championships
1st MaillotBélgica.PNG Road race
1st MaillotBélgica.PNG Time trial
1st Jersey black.svg Overall Tour of Belgium
1st Stage 3
1st Jersey yellow.svg Overall Ster ZLM Toer
1st Stage 4
1st Liège–Bastogne–Liège
1st Amstel Gold Race
1st La Flèche Wallonne
1st Clásica de San Sebastián
1st Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec
1st Montepaschi Strade Bianche
1st Brabantse Pijl
1st Grand Prix de Wallonie
Tour de France
1st Stage 1
Held Jersey yellow.svg after Stage 1
1st Stage 1 Volta ao Algarve
2nd Overall Eneco Tour
1st Stage 3
3rd Milan–San Remo
3rd Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal
8th Giro di Lombardia
9th Overall Tirreno–Adriatico
1st Stage 5
9th Tour of Flanders0 -
All I'll say is that he's not winning so much that we're getting in a flap when he doesn't allow someone else to win.
“New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!1 -
Does the Netherlands know you're at this sort of chat?rick_chasey said:I think the palmares comparisons miss a big portion of the breadth and depth of WvA.
There is basically no terrain or format where he is not making a material impact on the outcome, and except for an HC mountain top finish (where he will still be thinning out the peloton significantly) it's not unrealistic to see him challenging for the win.
That's what's so amazing about him. He can do it all.
“New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!0
