168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Wout van Aert is arguably one of the strongest and seemingly multi-talented riders in the Wo𒈔rldTour peloton but even the B🐲elgian cannot avoid illness and setbacks.

At his best, Van Aert would be a contender in the opening 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Tirreno-Adriatico🧔 time trial, throw himself into the sprint finishes, fight for other stage wins in the Italian hills and maybe even fight for overall victory.

Not this year.

Van Aert was struck by illness after arriving at a key Jumbo-Visma altitude camp in mid-February and has been playing catch-up as he suffered on Mount Teide in Tenerife. That forced him to miss Stradꦍe Bianche and turn Tirreno-Adriatico into a fin📖al preparation race for the spring Classics.

“I'm good enough to race and I’ll be competitive but I was supposed to start my season at Strade Bianche at 100%. Due to the circumstances, I’ll start racing at Tirreno a bit lower than 100% and I’ll be trying to catch up this week,” Van Aert revealed to Cyclingnews and other media in Italy on Sunday.  

“I had five days off after the 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:World Cyclocross Championship, which was of course needed after the cross season. But th🍰en, after two days a꧒t altitude, I was forced to take another five days off training. 

"Adding these two periods of rest together was just too long to maintain the same level of fitness. I did my first quality training ride two weeks after the cyclocross worlds. That was at least one week later than we’d h❀oped and that's why we had to change the plan.”

Van Aert’s winter base training and his cyclocross season meant he did not have 🎃to start from zero, even if it felt like it.  

“For a few rides, it felt like I was back to zero but luckily my form came back faster than normal in the winter period. It's a setback, with really bad timing but sometimes things make yo✨u stronger, you learn from it and you try to get bett♔er,” he explained, not overly concerned and hoping his slowed start to his 2023 road season could be a blessing in disguise.    

“I wa꧃s disappointed after the cyclocross worlds and my♕ illness but after a few days, I got up again and restarted.

“There's no reason to panic because it will not help me. It's always important to make new plans when it's necessary and that's what we did. I stayed an extra week at altitude instead of tapering for 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Strade Bianche and Tirreno-Adꦅriatico. In fact, I didn't really tap🌸er, I just trained until yesterday, when I had the flight here.

“I hope that after 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Paris-Roubaix I can tell you that it was a good thing, but for now it's about trying to focus on what I'm doing day by day and get ready. Maybe not everybody believes me ꦬwhen I say Tirreno is now a training race but it’s true. Now I just have to wait how I feel.”

Van Aert’s main goal for the spring is to win a monument: a second 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Milan-San Remo would be nice but the 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix or perhaps even both are his and Jumbo-Visma’s major goa♋l for the spring.

“This🎐 is a really big team goal for us,” Van Aert confirmed.

“That’s why I was so happy to see the strength of the guys last weekend in Belgium. We&ꦅ🍌rsquo;re a strong team.”  

Van Aert didn’t see much of 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Tom Pidcock’s solo victory at Strade Bianche because he was on a plane from Tenerife to Italy. His setback means he was unable to ride the Italian Classic or taper for his race debut as he usually 🔯would.

Monday’sꦡ opening time trial at Tirreno-Adriatico will be a first blowout and a shakedown for the major containers. Van Aert indicated he will not contest the expected sprints on stage 2 in Follinca and stage 3 in Foligno.    

“I think I’ll focus on the second part of the week and use the first three days to get in the race,” he said, explaining to Cyclingnews how he can feel the benefits of more-oxygꦓenated air at sea level but that he will need time to adapt to racing.”  

Van Aert is part of a powerful Jumbo-Visma team that includes 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Primoz Roglic, who is also returning to racing🌼 after his winter shoulder operation and long rehabilitation. Wilco Kelderman and Tiesj Benoot are the designated Jumbo-Visma te൩am leaders for Tirreno-Adriatico.

“We had a meeting this morning about who was supposed to come 𒁃to the top riders’ press conference because we couldn’t go with the whole team. Unfortunately, I was the guy who had to come,” Van Aert joked, tongue-in-cheek.

“I think we have a few guys who can target the GC. Fo🦩r sure Wilco has had a really good preparation and I think Tiesj is showing good form too. Primoz is a last-minute addition to the team. He's here without pressure but you never know with him he can surprise even us.”

“Besides all the riders just mentioned, we also have super strong domestics. I’ll also do what I can, as will 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Dylan van Baarle, who is also preparing for the Classics. I hope to improve in the opening days and to have a nice result in the stಌages neꦏar the end of the week.

“I believe we will be strong enough to combine all these goals. It’s important to have a plan for the race; pick the stages where you want to go for a result and dig deep. That’s what you need to improve your fo🤪rm.”