The X2O Trofee Badkamers Koksijde marked the end of Wout van Aert’s Christmas schedule. The Visma-Lease a Bike cyclist participated in all his Cyclocross competitions, except for one, and is now ready to rest, focusing on the upcoming road season.
Lower physical form compared to previous years
In an interview with the Dutch website Wielerflits, he addressed his participation in this first part of the season.
“I feel like I started my Christmas period with much less physical preparation. It was a very tough period. There were a lot of people in the competitions, and I immensely enjoyed that. Physically, it was adapting to the legs, which I managed to show. It’s different from other years, but we knew that in advance.”
“Since I received my number, I want to do the best I can. I always did that. It resulted in beautiful podium finishes but few victories.”
Mathieu van der Poel unbeatable
Unfortunately for him, he encountered a very strong Mathieu van der Poel, whom he couldn’t match in any race, unlike the previous year.
“I’ve already taken a big step forward, but I need some rest days,” he continues. Now, the Belgian must undergo a Training Camp with the team for the road season, where his major goals for 2024 lie.
“So, we will continue to build progressively. There are three months left until my main objectives, which is still some time. There’s still a lot of work to be done.”
