Wout van Aert unsure about his Giro: ‘Some question marks’
The Giro d’Italia begins in Albania with a tough debut, but can the Belgian overcome his recent sickness?
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Sirotti
The pro peloton is in Albania Friday for a 160-km stage between Durrës and the capital Tirana. It’s a tough start to the Corsa Rosa, which has become more and more common in the first Grand Tour of the year for the men.
After a flat 65 km start, the stage comes alive as they tackle the Gracen climb on the way to Tirana. Once in the capital, riders enter the final circuit just past the finish line, facing the challenging Surrel hill twice, with its steep initial slopes reaching 13 per cent. It’s a tough stage to kick off the Giro, meaning G.C. riders will need to stay alert and avoid being caught in any splits.
“The climb at the end is quite tough,” Van Aert said in the press conference, as reported by WielerFlits. “It starts quite steep, and then it’s almost downhill to the finish. I see a chance for the attackers to make it to the finish line. It was definitely good to have seen that climb already.”
Although the Giro, and the pink jersey, has been a goal of his for 2025, he has said he is not so sure about winning the first stage given that he has been sick.
“I’m going into this Giro with some question marks. I got sick last week and that meant the preparation was not ideal,” he said. “After the Amstel Gold Race I wasn’t able to do any real training. I kept having to adjust it. I had an infection that continued to linger, so to be honest, I’m going into this not really knowing where the legs are at.”
Van Aert’s spring was respectable for most pro riders, but a big win eluded him. Fourth at Amstel Gold Race and Paris-Roubaix showed he had the form–but he couldn’t pull off a victory at both Dwars door Vlaanderen and De Brabantse Pijl, where he finished second.
After a roller coaster 2024, where two major crashes bookended some fine riding, he is looking to turn that around in 2025.
There are three Canadians racing at the Giro–Derek Gee, who is going for the overall, his Israel – Premier Tech teammate Hugo Houle, and Q36.5 Pro Cycling’s Nick Zukowsky, riding his first Grand Tour.