Visma-Lease a Bike's Wout van Aert says he won't be considering himself as one of the so-called 'big four' when he starts the Tour of Flanders this weekend, and knows that his main rivals are still a level above him as he chases victory in his home Monument.
The Belgian was practically pre-destined to be a Classics rider, but in recent years he's been usurped on home turf by the likes of Tadej Pogačar and Mathieu van der Poel, and for all that he's confident about himself, he was also realistic about his rivals going into Sunday's race.
There was one moment that almost told you all you need to know about how Van Aert – and the rest of the world – views himself when it comes to his status against the sport's greats.
A journalist had just asked him about his rivals' data-based flexes in the run up to Flanders - Pogačar's Cipressa record and Van der Poel's 90-minute power at E3 - and whether Van Aert wanted to throw his own numerical brag into the ring.
"It will definitely not be as impressive as these guys," he responded. To his left, his Sports Director Grischa Niermann chipped in to try and hype up his rider: "Wout took the KoM on the Eikenberg on Wednesday!"
"But they were not there, so…" Van Aert trailed off. Even his successes, he judges in the context of his rivals.
"I think it will not change something if I would [share some numbers or an achievement]," he went on to add. "But to be more serious, the guys you're talking about, of course for me they remain the big favourites and they have something more than all the others at the start line, that's for sure."
It's hard to argue with Van Aert's point, given Van der Poel and Pogačar will start on Sunday as winners of the last 10 Monuments and with four Flanders victories between them, but Van Aert's view on his place is certainly more deference than anything else. He doesn't try to assert himself or talk himself up. Is this a sign of being more relaxed than previous year?
"I don't know. Maybe that's a good question for the people around me," he answered. "But sure I'm maybe more relaxed than a few years ago. I'm more enjoying the process now and all the things that come with it. Some I accept easier, and some I appreciate more. So it might be true. Probably both, you get a bit older, you get a bit wiser, and you know a bit better what to expect, all these things help.
"It's of course a stressful period, but it's also one of the best weeks of the year to be here in the middle of a lot of attention but also in the middle of the biggest scene we have maybe in cycling. I think as a Belgian riding these Classics is one of the best things you can do, and it's every year again goosebumps with the recon today and stuff like that, it's really cool to do."
Those things that Van Aert speaks of having to accept or deal with are numerous. Stressful races, criticism online and in the media, injury or illness setbacks. The Belgian has perhaps faced more of all of these than his rivals, including this year. A broken ankle threatened to disrupt his spring, but ultimately he has arrived at Holy Week in exactly the form he wanted.
"This is where I worked for. I had a few setbacks but we always kept calm and we knew there was enough time to be on a good level. Without the setbacks I would have loved to be already starting my road campaign, I hoped to be better already in Strade Bianche for example, and I think now you can see that maybe I needed these races to make the last steps that I want."
The Belgian Classics haven't always treated Van Aert well, and he comes to Flanders off the back of close defeats at both E3 and Dwars door Vlaanderen, but he and his team have been focusing all week on the positives rather than the negatives.
"I think the last two races were good. I raced how I loved to race, aggressively, with good finales, so I can be happy with that," he said.
"For sure [my form] is better than my first appearance in 2018, but other than that I think a lot of times I started the Tour of Flanders with good legs. I also didn't start two times when I had really good legs the week before, so I'm really pleased with how I'm feeling now."
The Evenepoel factor
Like every big rider, Van Aert was also asked about the presence and impact of his compatriot Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), whose late announcement that he would make his Flanders debut has coloured the lead-up to the race.
Much has been made of Evenepoel's participation, with the Belgian plainly stating that he's here to try and win, but the race will also feature all four of Pogačar, Van der Poel, Van Aert and Evenepoel. That's never happened in a one-day race outside of a World Championships.
Van Aert was quick to not place himself in any kind of 'big anything' with those riders, but again welcomed Evenepoel's participation.
"First of all, I wouldn't consider myself in this big four," he said.
"But I think Remco being on the start definitely changed something. I don't have to explain to you guys how good he is and what a special athlete he is. The chance that he has an influence on how the race unfolds is bigger than that he doesn't have an influence. I expect him to be there and to be strong."
For Van Aert, Evenepoel could even bring an advantage, another person to help chase down Van der Poel and Pogačar when they inevitably attack, but also a threat in his own right.
"I think he will be a huge competitor, he's one of the best one-day racers we have in the peloton. I think it's very brave to try his chance," he said.
"If he will be an ally, that will depend on a lot of factors. If he's there in the final, if I am there, what's the race situation, but what I like about him is that for sure he's a real racer. I consider myself as the same type of rider, so that can work well together."
'The perfect situation is that Wout wins solo'
Van Aert was questioned more about how him and Evenepoel might play it on Sunday, but understandably kept his ambitions and ideas close to his chest.
"We can analyse afterwards and you guys will probably also do that, but it's a bit pointless now to go over all these different kinds of scenarios before that might happen," he said. "A lot of other things will happen because it's the Tour of Flanders and it will be chaotic and it will be like always, you cannot really predict how it can unfold.
"I'm definitely not going to say here now what I would do. That would be very stupid."
With his sports director sitting next to him, perhaps Niermann the strategist could give a better insight into the team's plan.
"We have a good team at the start line, Wout clearly showed the last races that he's one of the strongest riders in the bunch, but also especially Christophe and Per, they showed some good races and some nice results, so ideally we get to a situation where we can play more than one card," he said.
"But I think the Tour of Flanders, especially the deep final, the last 50 kilometres, most of the time is very honest, and the best riders will come out on top. Then we see what the situation will be but Wout will definitely be there."
And the way he envisages Van Aert winning?
"The perfect situation is that Wout wins solo," he said. "Easy."
Get unlimited access to our unrivalled 2026 Spring Classics coverage with a Cyclingnews subscription. We'll bring you breaking news, reports, and analysis from some of the biggest races on the calendar, including Milan-San Remo, Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders. Find out more.
