'At my very best, I certainly have a chance' – Wout van Aert confident in World Championships road race bid after rediscovering top form before Vuelta a España

Wout van Aert is back to his best. Three stage wins and the overall title at the Tour of Denmark have left him brimming with confidence as the Visma-Lease a Bike racer heads towards his major goals for the end of the season, namely at the Vuelta a España and World Championships in Canada.

At the latter, which will be raced over a brutally tough hilly course in Montreal, Van Aert hasn't ruled himself out of the running as a main contender, even in the likely presence of two-time defending champion Tadej Pogačar and Belgian teammate Remco Evenepoel, who already has a rainbow jersey from Wollongong in 2022.

"Tadej and Remco are two different types than me," said Van Aert to Het Laatste Nieuws, speaking after a successful five days racing in Denmark.

"It is a tough course that will always be on the limit for me. But I have finished second in Montreal in the past. If I am at my very best, I certainly have a chance there. I absolutely do not consider myself without a chance, and that is why I want to go for it.”

272km in length and with 3,803 meters of elevation gain taken in over 12 laps of the Mount Royal course, Van Aert won't be the pre-race favourite compared to the two mentioned above, who finished first and second overall at the Tour de France.

But as Van Aert said, he has raced over a similar course in Montreal before and finished second in 2022. However, that course was 50km shorter and the rider he lost out to was indeed Pogačar in a sprint.

It should bring Van Aert's first return to the Worlds road race since Glasgow in 2023, where he finished second behind Mathieu van der Poel. He also finished second in Imola in 2022 and fourth in Wollongong, but has missed out on the past two seasons due to his crash at the Vuelta in 2024 and wanting "not to overdo it" 12 months ago after a busy 2025.

He'll join up with Pogačar before heading to Canada as they both head for the Vuelta a España, which kicks off in Monaco on August 22. Van Aert has laid out clear goals of chasing stage wins and potentially the first red jersey in the opening time trial.

"Yes, definitely. I want to finish as close as possible right from the start," he told HLN when asked about going for the win over the 9km course.

"It’s a short time trial, so the position is slightly less crucial. That’s my luck, because due to that inflamed elbow I’ve barely been able to sit on the time trial bike. Leaning on those handlebars caused me a lot of trouble. But we’re going to work really hard on that in the coming weeks.”

"The whole first week looks fun, by the way – we are going for stage wins. There are opportunities."

The last and only time he raced the Spanish Grand Tour, Van Aert won three stages and looked set to win the points jersey before crashing out on stage 16.

The elbow injury Van Aert mentioned ruled him out of the Tour de France, after a wound suffered in a crash before the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes got infected and required surgical cleaning.

While that kept him off the bike and required him to adjust his training as he watched the Tour de France from home instead of from inside the peloton, Van Aert was still buoyed by his goals for the end of the season.

"It might sound strange, but I would rather not have been standing here and ridden the Tour de France," he said after successfully defending yellow on the final stage in Denmark.

"That wasn’t a fun period, but you always have to be ready to adjust your plan, and I am really looking forward to everything that is still coming up this autumn."

His final build-up to the Vuelta will come at the Belgian Gravel Championship in Grobbendonk on August 16, which he described as being "Five kilometers from my door" and ideal for his preparation.

"There are quite a few training partners at the start. I wanted to participate last year, but I was physically drained after the Tour," he added.

"Now I absolutely want to be there. Gravel is fun to do anyway, but it is also a tough workout. It fits perfectly into my build-up towards the Vuelta."

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