After five years away, Wout van Aert will race Strade Bianche. The Belgian had already said he would return to Siena to race on the Tuscan trails, and the official confirmation came yesterday. Van Aert won this race before, it was during Covid times, and just days after that victory, he would cross the finish line first at Milan-San Remo, marking one of the finest seasons of his career.

Now the situation is different, because the Flemish rider has suffered significant injuries over the past two years and a recent setback came with the flu that sidelined him for the Omloop. The Visma-Lease a Bike champion is doubtful about the race outcome, but we also know he has an extraordinary ability to bounce back and resume from where he left off. Van Aert has demonstrated his resilience many times, and he also has a strong capacity to read himself and draw motivation from various setbacks.

It's impossible to forget the terrible crash at the 2019 Tour de France, when during the thirteenth stage, a 27-kilometer time trial, he fell against the barriers, tearing his thigh muscle. There were moments of discouragement for the Belgian, because his career seemed to be over, but the following year he returned for one of his most important seasons, where he also conquered Strade Bianche.

«It's been a while since I last raced Strade Bianche – said the Belgian - But this year, at my request, it was put back on the schedule. The combination of Strade Bianche and Tirreno-Adriatico seems like good preparation for my spring objectives».

Van Aert dreams big and still has desires to fulfill, and among these is winning the Tour of Flanders, where his best finish is second place in 2020 behind Van der Poel, and then Paris-Roubaix, where last year he finished fourth and previously came third in 2023 and second in 2022.

The thirty-one-year-old from Herentals, who arrived in Italy with many doubts and will only understand during the race whether the sensations will be positive or not. «I'll be at the start with more questions than I hoped. I'm very motivated, but we'll have to wait and see how I feel on Saturday. We'll have a strong team at the start. We can certainly aim for a high-level result».

With Van Aert there will also be Kielich, Jorgenson, Graat, Rex and the two Italians Filippo Fiorelli (31) and Pietro Mattio (21).

On gravel Van Aert knows how to produce great performances and precisely in the ninth stage of last year's Giro d'Italia, he managed to secure victory on a route similar to Strade Bianche. On that occasion he managed to beat Mexican talent Isaac Del Toro on the iconic Santa Caterina climb and tomorrow, he will face not only Del Toro, but also Tadej Pogacar and a very young Seixas, still new to these roads, but who thanks to a cyclocross background can certainly do well.

With the Van Aert-Jorgenson tandem, Visma-Lease a Bike hopes to have a valid counterweight to the Pogacar-Del Toro duo. The Flemish rider already sees opportunities for his team, but doesn't want to overcommit. «We're starting with a strong team, given that Matteo has shown his good form in recent races in France as well (fourth at the Faun-Ardèche Classic and second at the Faun Drôme Classic, ed.). We can certainly aim for a high-level result and we know that when we race we always look for the highest result».