It now remains to refine the team strategy. Belgium is in Wollongong with two trump cards: Wout van Aert and Remco Evenepoelrecent winner of the Tour of Spain. Last year, it ended badly for Belgium, despite the presence of the two riders at the start. “Remco and I are among the race favorites” confirm Wout van Aert. “It’s a big advantage to have two riders like that in the team. But that’s only an advantage when we ride together. This is the lesson we learned from last year. We must play both cards and not choose. It’s the best thing we can do.“
Present for several days in Australia, the two runners discuss together the different strategies to adopt depending on the course of the race. “We talked a lot about the possible scenarios and what we personally want“finishes the recent green jersey of the Tour, which assumes the label of favorites of Belgium, while trying not to repeat the collective errors of the Mondial de Leuven last year. “We will take our responsibilities. But we are not the only favourites. The other teams must also help us because we are not going to make the same mistake as last year and ride in the lead without anyone helping us..”
Everything is therefore going well between the two riders, as evidenced by this moment during the press conference of the day when van Aert was clear about the relationship – not to say the union – which binds him to Remco Evenpoel. “It’s exactly like saying our vows, like at a wedding. Yes, I want it !“