For elite cyclists, 2024 appears to be like set to be a incredible yr.

There’s the Grand Excursions as typical, in fact, in addition to the UCI World Tour to contest. The Olympic Video games in Paris will present the icing on the cake.

For Wout van Aert, alternative knocks. The 29-year-old will, assuming he’s match and injury-free, trip in at the very least one of many Grand Excursions and signify Belgium on the Olympics within the street race and time trial disciplines.

And but, it’s in barely lower-key environment wherein one in every of his greatest probabilities of main glory lies…

Homecoming King
The Tour of Flanders, a part of the UCI World Tour, has been held for greater than a century now, remaining one of the crucial intriguing races on the calendar because of its beautiful vistas and that distinctive cobblestone terrain.

Its record of winners reads like a who’s who of Belgian biking, so Van Aert would love so as to add his identify to the roll of honour. At sportsbook betting odds of 6/1 he’s fancied to do precisely that, though sturdy competitors will naturally come from defending champion Tadej Pogacar (9/4) and Mathieu van der Poel (3/1).

Eddy Merckx, Johan Museeuw and Rik Van Steenbergen are all a number of winners of the Tour of Flanders, with the race gained 69 instances by Belgians – the subsequent most profitable nation is the Netherlands with 12 victories. So expectations of a Van Aert triumph on dwelling soil are excessive.

This yr’s champion noticed you, heard you, and appreciated you 🙌#TourOfBritain 🔴🔵⚪ pic.twitter.com/cIVXwVmHAT

— The Tour of Britain 🇬🇧 (@TourofBritain) September 11, 2023

He’ll, in fact, should discover a well past Pogacar over the 170-mile course. The Slovenian grew to become solely the third man to win the Tour de Flanders and Tour de France throughout their careers earlier this yr, powering to a 16-second victory over Van Der Poel and leaving Van Aert, Mads Pedersen and co trailing greater than a minute behind.

Can the Tour of Britain champion upend the formbook in 2024?

Daring Selections
Amid all of the thrilling racing accessible subsequent yr, elite cyclists could have some tough scheduling choices to make.

The Tour de France will conclude on July 21, leaving simply six days till the Olympic time trial occasion and fewer than a fortnight till the street race, which is able to see members ascend greater than 2,800m of elevation achieve across the French capital.

Selections, choices then… how will the very best within the enterprise handle their diaries?

For Van Aert, it has been closely rumoured that he’ll skip the Tour de France altogether – an enormous shock, given the race’s status, the 9 earlier stage wins to his identify and the truth that, as a multi-disciplinarian out on the street, the Belgian is likely one of the strongest contenders to finish the domination of Pogacar and 2023 champion Jonas Vingegaard.

🤩 Right here it’s, the official route of the #TDF2024!

🤩 Voici le parcours officiel du #TDF2024 ! pic.twitter.com/3ORf31AS4T

— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) October 25, 2023

That’s a troublesome value to pay for juggling your schedule, however the comfort prize is that it’ll allow Van Aert to enter the Giro D’Italia, a race which might swimsuit his pace whereas minimising the quantity of climbing to be achieved.

On condition that others are set to skip the Giro in favour of the Tour de France, an opportunity to push for a Grand Tour victory may current itself to the Belgian in what ought to be a stellar yr.

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