For elite cyclists, 2024 seems set to be an unbelievable 12 months.
There’s the Grand Excursions as standard, in fact, in addition to the UCI International Excursion to contest. The Olympic Video games in Paris will give you the icing at the cake.
For Wout van Aert, alternative knocks. The 29-year-old will, assuming he’s are compatible and injury-free, trip in a minimum of some of the Grand Excursions and constitute Belgium on the Olympics within the street race and time trial disciplines.
And but, it’s in rather lower-key atmosphere by which considered one of his very best probabilities of main glory lies…
Homecoming King
The Excursion of Flanders, a part of the UCI International Excursion, has been held for greater than a century now, closing one of the vital intriguing races at the calendar because of its shocking vistas and that distinctive cobblestone terrain.
Its record of winners reads like a who’s who of Belgian biking, so Van Aert would like so as to add his identify to the roll of honour. At sportsbook making a bet odds of 6/1 he’s fancied to just do that, even supposing sturdy festival will naturally come from protecting champion Tadej Pogacar (9/4) and Mathieu van der Poel (3/1).
Eddy Merckx, Johan Museeuw and Rik Van Steenbergen are all a couple of winners of the Excursion of Flanders, with the race gained 69 occasions by way of Belgians – the following maximum a hit nation is the Netherlands with 12 victories. So expectancies of a Van Aert triumph on house soil are top.
This 12 months’s champion noticed you, heard you, and liked you 🙌#TourOfBritain 🔴🔵⚪ percent.twitter.com/cIVXwVmHAT
— The Excursion of Britain 🇬🇧 (@TourofBritain) 11th of September, 2023
He’ll, in fact, need to give you the option previous Pogacar over the 170-mile route. The Slovenian turned into handiest the 3rd guy to win the Excursion de Flanders and Excursion de France throughout their careers previous this 12 months, powering to a 16-second victory over Van Der Poel and leaving Van Aert, Mads Pedersen and co trailing greater than a minute in the back of.
Can the Excursion of Britain champion upend the formbook in 2024?
Daring Alternatives
Amid the entire thrilling racing to be had subsequent 12 months, elite cyclists can have some tough scheduling selections to make.
The Excursion de France will conclude on July 21, leaving simply six days till the Olympic time trial match and not more than a fortnight till the street race, which can see members ascend greater than 2,800m of elevation achieve across the French capital.
Selections, selections then… how will the most efficient within the industry organize their diaries?
For Van Aert, it’s been closely rumoured that he’s going to skip the Excursion de France altogether – an enormous wonder, given the race’s status, the 9 earlier level wins to his identify and the truth that, as a multi-disciplinarian out at the street, the Belgian is without doubt one of the most powerful contenders to finish the domination of Pogacar and 2023 champion Jonas Vingegaard.
🤩 Right here it’s, the professional path of the #TDF2024!
🤩 Voici le parcours officiel du #TDF2024 ! percent.twitter.com/3ORf31AS4T
— Excursion de France™ (@LeTour) October 25, 2023
That’s a difficult value to pay for juggling your time table, however the comfort prize is that it is going to permit Van Aert to go into the Giro D’Italia, a race which might go well with his velocity whilst minimising the volume of mountain climbing to be performed.
For the reason that others are set to skip the Giro in favour of the Excursion de France, a possibility to push for a Grand Excursion victory might simply provide itself to the Belgian in what will have to be a stellar 12 months.
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