Wout van Aert’s plan for his 2025 road racing season is taking shape, with starts at both the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France on the cards this season.
The Belgian was set to take on the two Grand Tours in 2024 before a crash at Dwars door Vlaanderen derailed his spring campaign and threw off his season plans – including a career debut in Italy.
However, Het Laatste Nieuws has revealed that the Visma-Lease A Bike leader is planning once again to head to the Giro and Tour this season, with sprinter Olav Kooij also set to race the Giro.
Following the conclusion of his abridged cyclocross campaign in late January – during which he scored his first win in Dendermonde on Sunday – Van Aert will head to a final pre-season training camp before making his 2025 debut on February 17 at the Clásica Jaén.
He’ll then head to the Volta ao Algarve to prepare for a spring Classics season. Van Aert will tackle both races at Opening Weekend before a spell at altitude in Tenerife ahead of the E3 Saxo Classic, Gent-Wevelgem, a return to Dwars door Vlaanderen and the two big goals – the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix.
Strade Bianche and Milan-San Remo, races he’s triumphed at before, won’t figure in his plans for the spring, though a visit to Amstel Gold Race, which he won in 2021, figures to round out his Classics campaign.
Following the spring, his main goals will be the Giro and Tour, though the remainder of Van Aert’s 2025 schedule has yet to be confirmed.
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With both he and Kooij heading to the Italian Grand Tour, which starts in Albania on May 5, Van Aert should reprise his role as a star lead-out for the young sprinter. The pairing has previously delivered success at the 2023 Tour of Britain, where Van Aert helped Kooij to four stage wins in a row, and at the 2024 Clásica de Almería.
Van Aert should also be clear to fight for his own successes and stage wins at the race, while he’s likely to also balance domestique and stage-hunting duties at the Tour, where teammate Jonas Vingegaard will be seeking a third overall victory.
