The Cyclocross World Championship is now in the past, and Wout van Aert is overall satisfied with his silver medal. The Belgian wants to look ahead to the road season, particularly the Spring Classics, which, along with the pink jersey at the Giro d'Italia, are his main objectives.

"As I've already said, I'm not disappointed with my second place at the Cyclocross World Championship," van Aert said on the television program Bistrot Vélo: "Coming second behind the best rider in the world is an excellent result. Plus, I've accumulated many UCI points, so next year I can start further ahead."

The day after the world championship, the Belgian went out for a long training ride, pedaling for over six hours, demonstrating that his mind is already focused on upcoming events. The race schedule is not yet defined, but Van Aert will certainly target the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, the races that matter most to him.

"When I came second at the Tour of Flanders behind Mathieu Van der Poel in 2020, I thought I would have many more opportunities to win a Monument Classic on the pavé. But here we are in 2025, and apart from my third place at Roubaix in 2023 when I cracked at the Carrefour de l'Arbre, I've never been in contention for the win again. Time flies quickly."

Van Aert has participated in the Tour of Flanders 5 times and Paris-Roubaix 5 times, and besides his second place in 2020 at the Ronde, he can boast a third place in France in 2023 behind Philipsen and Van der Poel and a second place in 2022 behind his teammate Dylan Van Baarle.

The Flemish rider still thinks about the past season, when he was certain he could achieve important successes, but then crashes forced him to stop and miss both the Classics and the Giro d'Italia.

"Probably last year I was in the best form of my life. I'm doing everything possible to return to peak condition before the Tour of Flanders. And if I win the Ronde and Paris-Roubaix, I'll take a vacation until the end of the year."

There are the Classics but also the Giro d'Italia, where the Herentals rider will try to immediately take the pink jersey, while for the points classification, he intends to help his teammate Olav Kooij.

"I would love to wear the pink jersey on the first Giro stage; everyone knows I love collecting jerseys. The points jersey? No, I'll help Olav Kooij for the bunch sprints at the Giro. So it will be complicated for me to earn the necessary points. On the other hand, I really want to wear the pink jersey at the start of the Giro, without trying to keep it for two weeks, because my intention is also to win some stage victories."