Wout van Aert has confirmed that his role will shift from team leader to support rider for Jumbo-Visma at Paris-Roubaix on Sunday, but the Belgian champion said it was better to ride with different expectations than miss out on the race altogether.
Van Aert, who is returning from COVID-19, has already been forced to sit out the Tour of Flanders and Amstel Gold Race, but earlier this week he was cleared by the team medical staff to start at Paris-Roubaix.
"Fortunately, I'm fine. I am completely healthy and fit to race again. So I'm pleased I can still ride Paris-Roubaix after the setback," Van Aert said. "I think my role will be different than usual. I usually am the leader. This year, we are racing in a way that we are trying to get into the final with many. But I'm usually the one who can keep quiet the longest.
"I hope it will be different this time, and I mainly mean that I hope to get somewhere in the final and support Christophe [Laporte], Nathan [Van Hooydonck] or Mike [Teunissen]. Obviously, I hope I don't have to ride in the lead initially because I feel bad. If I'm just okay, I hope to get into the final and be able to support those guys.
"At least that's the idea. It's a course you can't predict. In a supporting role, many guys have already gone far here. I secretly hope for that, but I start with that approach in any case."
Asked if it feels strange to be racing in a support role in what was meant to be one of the biggest targets of his Spring Classics campaign, Van Aert replied with a yes.
"But as I said: watching the Ronde from a chair and then watching the Amstel wasn't fun," said Van Aert. "I am delighted that I can be there again. Even if it is with lesser legs. It would hurt more if I had to let go of this race as well."
Van Aert started the season with wins at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, the time trial stage at Paris-Nice and E3 Saxo Bank Classic, and then finished 12th at Gent-Wevelgem. He confirmed that his symptoms began four days after Gent-Wevelgem, during the team's reconnaissance of the Tour of Flanders route.
"I was exposed to a lot of contacts there. I will have become infected there, I suppose. You do everything you can, but then you ride a race, and it's out of your control. That's life," he said.
Jumbo-Visma and Van Aert later released a statement which said that two PCR tests confirmed he was positive for COVID-19 and would have to sit out Tour of Flanders with no timeline for his return.
"Fortunately, [I was] not severely sick. I never had a fever. It was more like cold symptoms: sore throat, stuffy nose, a heavy head, etc. I did suffer from fatigue for a long time. Only the last few days have I been doing a little better," Van Aert said.
Despite suffering mild symptoms, Jumbo-Visma's medical team closely monitored his health. He also sought advice from his family doctor during the weeks that followed before he was given the green light to resume training.
"It was as I expected from the team: at the highest level. I was in touch with the team doctor, and I also owe a lot to my home doctor, whom I've visited all my career. Every day we paid attention to how I was feeling, first and foremost. I think that's the most crucial thing because corona is often about heart problems and things like that," he said.
"It remains a viral infection, and then the first parameter is to be healthy. We have been cautious with that. On the ultrasound, everything was normal during maximum effort. That was quite a relief for me. During the first training session, I was very cautious, but since then, I have been able to go through the normal process of someone who has been ill. That went in a positive way.
"Fortunately, I was soon more or less okay again. We did all the necessary tests: heart and blood tests, and waited to see how my health evolved. Once I felt good, I tried to pick up training again. I had to search for what I could handle already, but I felt I was doing okay the last few days, so I really wanted to ride."
Van Aert said he has been able to train with more intensity during the last three days but that it will take time to rebuild the form he lost during his recovery from COVID-19. Still, he aims to play a role in what he hopes will be a successful outcome for Jumbo-Visma at Paris-Roubaix.
"It is a beautiful race, and I am someone who always races to win. The choice to ride anyway, even if it is not in the best possible condition, is mainly not to have the feeling of missing out on everything. I'm here with that approach, and that gives a lot of doubts. Of course, I hope for 'those' legs, but that is not realistic," he said.
