Wout van Aert will start his 2021 Belgian classics campaign on Friday at E3 Saxo Bank Classic and Sunday at Gent-Wevelgem.
“I always like to come back to where it all started a bit,” says Van Aert, who finished second in the E3 in 2019.
“I remember that I had good legs then. That debut with a podium place gives me a lot of confidence for this edition. With the E3 you also have an ideal warm-up for what is to come: the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix”, says Van Aert about the E3 Saxo Bank Classic, which was not held last year.
“The course is difficult from an early stage, so you can start straight away. The long stretch towards Harelbeke makes the race exciting. It always creates a game between groups or a group versus a rider. This ensures that a group spin is virtually impossible. It is simply going to be a good race.”
On Sunday in Gent-Wevelgem, almost the same selection will be at the start for Jumbo-Visma as Friday. Only Jos van Emden replaces David Dekker. On Wednesday in Dwars door Vlaanderen, Van Aert, Roosen and Van Hooydonck are missing again. Dekker, Christoph Pfingsten and Olav Kooij are at the start in the semi-classic.
Jumbo-Visma for E3 Saxo Bank Classic 2021: Wout van Aert, Edoardo Affini, David Dekker, Pascal Eenkhoorn, Timo Roosen, Nathan Van Hooydonck, Maarten Wynants
Jumbo-Visma for Gent-Wevelgem 2021: Wout van Aert, Edoardo Affini, Jos van Emden, Pascal Eenkhoorn, Timo Roosen, Nathan Van Hooydonck, Maarten Wynants
Jumbo-Visma for Dwars door Vlaanderen 2021: Edoardo Affini, David Dekker, Jos van Emden, Pascal Eenkhoorn, Maarten Wynants, Olav Kooij, Christoph Pfingsten
