The news that Wout van Aert has made Jumbo-Visma's selection for the Tour de France may have come as a surprise, but the young Belgian admits that he had little choice in taking up the offer after his team made their recent proposal. Van Aert only moved into the WorldTour this season, and this is only his first full campaign on the road as he continues to transition away from cyclo-cross. He still plans to devote the second half of his season and the coming winter to 'cross, but after impressing at the spring Classics, and again at a recent training camp, the team believed that the 24-year-old had the temperament and necessary strength to handle a Grand Tour debut. The decision looks even bolder when considering that Van Aert has only raced 10 days this season, and that the Critérium du Dauphiné is just his first stage race of the year. Nevertheless, Jumbo-Visma's confidence in Van Aert is clear, and they made the announcement before stage 2 of the French stage race after Van Aert had taken an impressive third place on stage 1.ADVERTISEMENT "This was a chance that I couldn't let go," Van Aert said after completing stage 2 of the Dauphiné. "I didn't make my decision in just one moment. They started talking about it after the Giro when I was at an altitude camp with Steven Kruijswijk. I did the altitude camp because it was part of the plan for the young professionals at Jumbo-Visma. There they [team management] start talking. I didn't really know what to think about it all, and I asked them what they saw my role as being, and about the rest of my season. "And as they said that after the Tour I only have to do the Prudential RideLondon Classic, and that then my road season would be over, it's even a good move for my cyclo-cross season."
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com.readfullarticle
