Visma-Lease a Bike have said Wout van Aert is nearing his previous world-beating top form from the 2022 Tour de France as he continues to impress at the Vuelta a España, guiding Matthew Brennan to a fourth stage win on debut and the team's sixth at the race with an imperious lead-out.
Fittingly, by winning their sixth stage on Tuesday, Visma matched their previous best haul of stage wins from a Grand Tour, also winning six at the '22 Tour, and at the Giro d'Italia earlier this year, with Jonas Vingegaard taking five of them.
As the World Championships in Canada approaches, Van Aert couldn't be riding in red-hot form at a better moment, and having missed the race for the road rainbow jersey the past two seasons – due to a crash at the Vuelta in 2024, and ending his season early 12 months ago – the Belgian will be back as one of the top favourites to win on September 27.
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"I would say he's close to 2022, and also he has now had consecutive months of building up, and that was also a little bit what he missed before," said Visma DS Maarten Wynants to Cyclingnews outside the team bus in La Rabida.
"He was always coming back from really bad injuries, so then it's really hard to come back, first of all, and to the level you were before. But then also now you see he's building up his shape, and then that puts layer on layer."
Long an elite Grand Tour rider, Van Aert is enjoying his most successful Grand Tour in years too, involved in the racing nearly every day and really leaving his mark as the green jersey elect, top lead-out man, and breakaway expert, winning stages 13 and 15.
In fact, the latter in Cordoba on Sunday brought him just one victory away from his total in 2022, when he was really flying, and if he brings home either tomorrow's stage or the final day in Granada, it would be his equal second-most successful season in terms of wins ever.
"I don't know, I just try to do my very best every day. In the end, it's what I like about Grand Tour racing; there's something to do every day," said Van Aert after the stage.
"When you have the form to do that, it's the best thing there is."
Van Aert in this kind of mood should be an ominous warning for all of his rivals for Worlds, and perhaps with the mental liberation of winning Paris-Roubaix for the first time this spring, a career goal for the Belgian, he can head into the race for rainbows as an even more dangerous prospect than in years gone by.
Even Brennan, who won't be there for Great Britain, is almost rooting for him over his compatriots. Though when you think through all the setbacks of Van Aert's career, but also all the comebacks, which played into the pouring out of emotions from everyone involved with his career after Roubaix, it's clear to see why the British rider wouldn't be able to hold in his emotion if Wout van Aert, world road race champion, did become a reality later this month.
"It's a conflict of interest because I want the boys from home to be successful, but if he wins, I don't think I could say how happy I would be for him," said Brennan during his stage winner's press conference.
"I think after the years he's had to get back, through injury and all the times he's been knocked down. I think Roubaix was special, and that was something really amazing to be a part of, and if he could end up in the rainbow bands at Worlds, that would top it off."
But the pair's partnership, too, should be something scary for all those who will come up against them in future Grand Tours. Van Aert has even started making jokes about the score between them they've been winning so frequently…
"I actually wanted to make a joke. It's now 4-2 between me and Matthew. It's obviously unfair that he has such a good lead-out," laughed the Belgian in conversation with Sporza. "I always have to sort it out on my own."
They will be turning their attention back to the Vuelta tomorrow morning, with the 185km stage from Dos Hermanas to Sevilla giving them a chance at a seventh stage, and the Dutch team's most successful Grand Tour in terms of victories ever.
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