Wout van Aert is winding down his 2025 campaign, eager for some rest before shifting focus to 2026. The Visma–Lease a Bike leader will race Friday’s Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec, Sunday’s Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal, and finish his season at next weekend’s Super 8 Classic in Belgium.
His year has been demanding, with 65 race days that began with recovery from a serious Vuelta crash over the winter. He mixed in cyclocross races, endured a Classics campaign where Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogačar dominated, and was sidelined by illness ahead of the Giro d’Italia. Still, he salvaged wins, including the gravel stage to Siena and the final Tour de France stage in Paris. His late-season programme has included the Hamburg Cyclassics, the Deutschland Tour, and now Canada, which also doubles as a preview of the 2026 World Championships course.
Van Aert has opted out of the Gravel World Championships in the Netherlands and already planned an October holiday. He confirmed he’ll return to cyclocross this winter but will first take three to four weeks completely off the bike. “I want to build for 2026 with a better winter,” he told Sporza in Canada, noting how last year’s late start due to injury left gaps in his preparation.
As one of Belgium’s biggest sports stars, he faces constant scrutiny, but he relates to Pogačar’s comments on fatigue and pressure. “It’s not easy when everyone expects you to win. I try not to let outside expectations drive me,” he said.
Reflecting on 2025, Van Aert sees it as a year of experimentation limited victories but meaningful ones. He admits illness and setbacks complicated his spring but feels the results were fair. Looking to 2026, he plans to target the cobbled Classics, possibly ride two Grand Tours, and is already eyeing the World Championships in Montreal.
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