The Tour of Britain has been one of Wout van Aert’s happiest hunting grounds in the past, and the Belgian star will travel to Altrincham on Sunday for this year’s race hoping he can finally end a lengthy run of near misses – culminating in last month’s silver medal at the world championships in Glasgow – that have raised questions about his ability to win the biggest races, as well as the way he structures his race season.
When Van Aert won the British Tour in 2021, he was in his pomp, taking four of the eight stages and the overall prize to close out a season where he had won three stages at the Tour de France – an astonishing hat-trick of sprint, time-trial and mountain stages – plus the Amstel Gold and Gent‑Wevelgem Classics.
