'We want to win for Belgium' - Wout van Aert and Remco Evenepoel insist they are on same page ahead of road race

Wout van Aert and Remco Evenepoel have made clear that they are on the same page as they prepare to lead Belgium in the men's road race at the 2022 World Championships. The multi-talented pair clashed during their home Worlds road race in Flanders last year, with Evenepoel criticising the chosen team tactics having been asked to ride in support of Van Aert.

Ad It was then alleged that the Quick-Step AlphaVinyl rider skipped a Belgium team debrief. World ChampionshipsVan Aert extends Jumbo-Visma deal to 2026YESTERDAY AT 13:11 Twelve months on, the pair have been named as co-leaders for a strong, balanced Belgian unit targeting success in Wollongong, and ahead of Sunday's road race in Australia, Van Aert insisted that the hatchet had been very much buried.

«We know our chances are bigger if we ride well together so it would be really dumb to not do it,» the Jumbo-Visma rider, who eventually finished 11th last year, said. «That's also why we're here with two leaders and not how we did it last year because I think it makes us more unpredictable and that's a big advantage to our team.

Probably [other teams] still believe we're not going all together, then that can also be pretty good.» Both riders have enjoyed strong 2022 seasons, with Van Aert starring at the Tour de France after another productive spring classics swing, and Evenepoel securing his maiden Grand Tour (La Vuelta) and monument (Liege-Bastogne-Liege) triumphs. The pair's team-mate Jasper Stuyven was the best-placed Belgium finisher in fourth in Flanders last year, more than 30 seconds back from Julian Alaphilippe, who retained his men's road race crown.