Van Aert was born on 15 September 1994 in Belgium, Herentals, Flanders, to Henk van Aert and Ivonne Boeckx.
“We gave away the best of us to Wout... And we are left with 'the surplus'” his father joked.
When his parents were asked asked about where Wout has inherited his traits, his father Henk replied. “Both of us, I think. We have given away the best to our Wout and are left with the surplus ourselves. (laughing heartily together).
No immediate members of Wout’s family were involved in bike racing, Rik van Looy was also born in Herentals, Flanders. He won all five of cycling’s one-day classics, two world titles and the Tour de France’s points classification.
Although one of his father's cousins is Dutch former professional cyclist Jos van Aert.
Early Career Success.
Wout van Aert first made a name for himself during the 2011-12 season, when he won the junior race at the Cyclo-cross Ruddervoorde in Belgium. He continued to win regularly and finished second in the Belgian and World Junior Championships.
At the start of 2013, he won the U23 Cyclo-cross Superprestige, along with overall second place in the U23 World Cup, behind Mathuieu Van der Poel.
Jos Van Aert and Mathuieu’s father Adrie Van Der Poel had rivalry of their own through the 90’s.
How was Wout able to adapt to the road?
A high VLamax enables cyclocross riders to be explosive. The Glycolytic energy system produces high power. This energy system burns carbohydrates. It turns glucose into lactate. While doing so, it creates energy (anaerobically). The more active this energy system is, the more lactate it produces. Therefore, the maximal lactate production flux, (VLamax), of a rider tells us about the maximum ability of that rider to produce energy or power via the glycolytic energy system.
“My VLamax was too high” - Wout van Aert
A high VLamax means that more carbohydrates are burned quickly. The Glycolytic system prepares the carbohydrates to fuel the Aerobic system and produces energy in doing so.
An increase in VLamax will increase the amount of carbohydrates burned (limited source of fuel) and therefore decrease the amount of fat burned (unlimited source of fuel),.
When VLamax decreases (dashed line), an athlete will burn less carbohydrates (red line) and more fat (green line). When VLamax increases (solid line), an athlete will burn more carbohydrates and less fat.
“For a relatively short cyclocross race this might not be a huge problem,” as Van Aert explains. “However, when you burn all your carbohydrates in the first hour of a 6-hour road race, you have a serious problem.”
The VLamax of Wout van Aert was too high to properly switch from cyclocross season to road cycling.
“Lowering VLamax keeps my sugars (carbohydrates) for the final, so I don’t waste them already in the beginning.”
A decrease in VLamax will also increase the Anaerobic Threshold (FTP). “My high VLamax had a positive effect on peak power, but a negative effect on a high steady pace”
There is an optimal VLamax for every race. Winning a race often requires a high power attack or sprint. Just because someone with a very high VLamax could benefit from decreasing it, does not mean everybody should aim for the lowest VLamax possible! You need a minimum VLamax to win a race!
Wout van Aert implemented workouts that target a decrease in VLamax.
“FatMax training involves: Four uphill repetitions of 20 minutes around 350 watts, 3minis on high cadence, 2 mins on low cadence.”
Wout’s coach on the likelihood of him winning the tour.
Wielerflits asked van Aert's coach, Marc Lamberts, about his opinion on the possibility. He explained. “If you look purely at power, Wout is just as strong as, for example, Greg Van Avermaet. And he pedals the same power as Sep Vanmarcke. But will he still achieve that power after 250 kilometres? This may be feasible in the long run, but it will take time," he said.
For the question, can Wout van Aert win the Tour de France one day, Lamberts is clear. “Top 10, that's possible. But he cannot win the Tour. Unless there are no steep uphill finishes and the Tour stays away from the high mountains.”
However Lamberts explains that a normal preparation would not be enough, as Van Aert's body composition is not that of a climber, and would have to undergo serious changes if he were ever to be in a true battle for a Grand Tour.
“There is about 0.6 watts per kilogram of body weight difference between Wout's threshold and the threshold of the best classification riders. That's a lot. Moreover, Wout has no fat reserve, so you can't get it there either," he explained. For now van Aert can enjoy his and Jumbo-Visma's incredibly successful Tour de France.
Is Wout Capable of winning the Tour de France? Have your say in the comments!
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