Wout van Aert puts in determined performance in final race of road season, explains way back to top form in 2026.
Wout van Aert has ended his road season, has identified way to return to his top form for next year (Photo: Mathieu Belanger / AFP)
Updated September 20, 2025 07:47PM
It was his last day of road racing this season, but Wout van Aert showed yet more of his characteristic team spirit in the Super 8 Classic, holding back on personal ambition to once again put Visma-Lease a Bike first.
The Belgian is one of the biggest stars in the sport but has long been seen dragging the peloton along in service of riders such as Jonas Vingegaard and, prior to his team move, Primož Roglič.
Van Aert has been an integral part of their grand tour performances and has also taken hugely respected results in his own right.
Consider his ten Tour de France stage wins, his green jersey from the 2022 edition, his victories in Milan-San Remo, the Amstel Gold Race and Strade Bianche, plus multiple other victories.
And Saturday? Van Aert once again put the team first, rather than trying to end his year with a big personal result. When the eventual winner Arnaud de Lie (Lotto) pounded clear on the Moskesstraat with 40km to go, Van Aert played a key role in hauling a select chase group up to him.
He continued to ride strongly in order to boost the prospects of his teammate Matthew Brennan, putting in a single-minded ride in the finale to keep things together.
The young Briton was full of praise for him afterwards.
“Wout supported me fantastically,” Brennan said, soon after he ended up second to De Lie.
Van Aert gave his own perspective, explaining his form is on the up but not quite where he wanted it to be.
“With a slightly better version of myself and that of my teammates, we could have played a bit more,” he said, according to HLN.
“We had hoped to postpone [playing] the Brennan card a little. But the choice was made quickly. I was doing better than during the races in Canada, but I didn’t have the confidence that if I got ahead with someone, I could finish it off.
“I tried to keep things together with great pleasure.”
‘In the finale Wout supported me fantastically’
Arnaud De Lie (Team Lotto) took a narrow win ahead of Matthew Brennan (Team Visma – Lease a Bike) after Wout van Aert rode with determination for the latter (Photo: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
Van Aert has had an-at times frustrating season, with his big Vuelta crash from 2024 affecting him for a long, long time and ensuring he wasn’t quite at his best.
However he played a vital part in Simon Yates’ victory in the Vuelta a España and also gave Jonas Vingegaard his best chance possible in the Tour de France. He capped that off with a stunning stage win in Paris at the end of the Tour, defeating no less than Tadej Pogačar in the finale.
He also took a Giro stage win in May, and exits the 2025 road season with that as one of the highlights.
“The stage wins in Siena [at the Giro] and in Paris have really made my year,” he said.
“There were also lesser moments, where I missed opportunities. Now it’s time for a vacation. But definitely without a bike. They will be happy about that at home. Now I can really be a dad.”
His family will relish having him around now, just as much as his teammates did during the year.
Brennan was very impressed by his more famous teammate, who did what he could to help the young Briton win.
“The team worked excellently all day, and in the finale Wout supported me fantastically,” he said.
“It’s special that such great riders believe in me. Without their help, I probably wouldn’t have been on the podium today.”
Indeed he went close to taking the victory: the sprint was chaotic and Brennan ended up further back than he had intended to be.
He came with speed inside the final 100 meters but just ran out of road before he could get past De Lie.
“It was a hectic finale,” he said afterwards. “In the final kilometer there was really no control. I tried to follow Arnaud, because I knew he was the strongest sprinter in the group. Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough left to come past him in the end. He is the rightful winner.”
‘I lost a lot of time and energy’: Reasons to be confident about 2026
Wout van Aert (left) at the start of the Super 8 Classic in Belgium on Saturday (Photo: Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
Van Aert fans will miss him in the remaining races, but they will still be able to see him in action.
The road racing is done and dusted for now, but Van Aert recently told Sporza and other media outlets at the Canadian world cup races that he will be racing in the mud soon.
“I can assure people that I’ll race cyclocross in the winter. But before that, the bike will be out of service for about three to four weeks, after which we’ll have to put the pieces together in November,” he said.
And even if he didn’t get everything he wanted out of this season, he retains his enthusiasm and his drive to do well. He said that getting a better winter in was important for his ambitions for 2026.
“I can’t forget that I started training very late last year. I lost a lot of time and energy to rehab after my crash in the Vuelta,” he explained.
“Even if you reach a good level, you still feel the details here and there that you had to skip in preparation. I think that’s where the margin lies.”
He’s already incredibly strong, as shown again Saturday. With a better winter under his wheels, the thoughts of a Van Aert consistently back to his best in 2026 will keep his fans satisfied for now.