It started with a tweet, then some kind words, and finally shared leadership for the UCI Road World Championships in Australia. Now Belgium is hoping either Wout van Aert or Remco Evenepoel can win in Wollongong and bring home the rainbow jersey.
Last year the pair endured a public spat after Van Aert was named as team leader for the World Championships in Belgium but struggled on the day. Evenepoel jumped in an early attack and then criticised the Belgian team tactics and refused to attend a debrief meeting to clear the air.
Van Aert has again had an incredible season and is rightly a team leader for Belgium in Wollongong as well as a favourite to win the world title. Yet Evenepoel has just won the Vuelta a España, the first Belgian to win a Grand Tour for 44 years. The balance of power in Belgian cycling has undergone a seismic change and a new era of Evenepoel-mania is underway.
Van Aert made it clear he was cheering for Evenepoel to win the Vuelta but he remains ambitious at the World Championships.
He has opted to miss the time trial despite the chance of success, putting all his chips on victory in the road race. In contrast, Evenepoel will ride the time trial and the road race.
Van Aert travels directly from Canada to Australia and will arrive on Wednesday, giving a few extra days to acclimatise and do a final block of road training before race day on Sunday September 25. Evenepoel flies from Madrid to Dubai and then on to Sydney. The two should finally cross paths when they arrive in Australia on Wednesday.
They have yet to fully clear the air and agree on a common tactic for the World Championships road race but Van Aert appears open to reconciliation and unity in Wollongong. He has learnt from his failings at last year’s World Championships.
“I think I got stressed in the race instead of keeping calm and it cost me a lot of energy which I needed a in the final. I think it was just not meant to be,” he admitted in Canada, speaking to the media, including Cyclingnews.
“For sure I learned from it and I also think we learnt from it as a team. It’s obvious that we go with two leaders to the Championship in Wollongong.
“Remco and I have always had respect for each other. The issues of last year were something that should not have happened in the media. I was quickly over it and I don’t see any problem with working together. I think we both learned from it.”
Van Aert believes he and Evenepoel’s strengths and ambitions are compatible….
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at CyclingNews RSS Feed…