Having initially prioritised competing in cyclo-cross, Van Aert terminated his contract withVérandas Willems–Crelan in 2018 and joined Team Jumbo–Visma[4] in March 2019, on a three-year deal.[8] Van Aert has since taken more than thirty professional road wins, including nine stage victories at theTour de France between2019 and2022 (also winning thepoints classification in 2022), and wonMilan–San Remo – one of the fiveCycling monuments – in2020.
Following the 2022 Tour de France, where Van Aert won three stages, several media outlets labeled him as "one of the most complete cyclists of his generation".[9] Hisrivalry with Mathieu van der Poel in cyclo-cross is considered among the greatest and longest lasting rivalries in the sport.[10][11]
He rode the2018 Strade Bianche, held partly on gravel roads in torrential rain. He broke away withRomain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale) and the pair led the race for much of the final 40 kilometres (25 miles) beforeTiesj Benoot (Lotto–Soudal) attacked from a chasing group to catch and then drop them in the final sector of dirt roads. Benoot soloed to victory by 39 seconds ahead of Bardet,[13] who dropped Van Aert in the final kilometre; Van Aert ultimately finished third, 19 seconds behind, despite falling on the final climb inSiena.[13]
Van Aert rode with theVérandas Willems–Crelan team during road races in 2018. Over the year, he expressed dissatisfaction with the news that the team was set to merge withRoompot–Nederlandse Loterij for 2019. Having already signed a contract to ride withLottoNL–Jumbo from 2020 onwards, he terminated his contract with Vérandas Willems–Crelan in September 2018. Were he to join another team for 2019, Sniper Cycling – the owners of the Vérandas Willems–Crelan team – were said to be demanding €500,000 in compensation. LottoNL–Jumbo were reported to be interested in signing Van Aert a year earlier than originally agreed,[15] and confirmation of the transfer was announced in December 2018, with Van Aert joining the team from 1 March 2019.[8]
In June, Van Aert won two stages and the green jersey in theCritérium du Dauphiné, becamenational time trial champion, and won the bronze medal in theroad race at the national championship. In July, he was named in the startlist for theTour de France.[16] On 15 July, Van Aert won Stage 10 fromSaint-Flour toAlbi, in a sprint finish ahead ofElia Viviani andCaleb Ewan.[17] Four days later, he had a crash during the individual time trial stage inPau,[18] and was forced to abandon the race due to his injuries.
Van Aert later told newspaperHet Laatste Nieuws that the crash was so severe that it could have ended his career, worsened by a mistake during his surgery, when doctors did not properly work on one of histendons.[19][20]
It was not known at the time whether he would recover for the cyclo-cross season or even the classics at the start of the 2020 road cycling season.[21]
van Aert wearing the national time trial champion's jersey on Stage 20 of the2020 Tour de France
Van Aert made his return to road racing atOmloop Het Nieuwsblad – having not been expected to ride in the race[24] – just missing the top-ten placings in eleventh.[25] However, this would be his only race day prior to the enforced suspension of racing due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.
On 1 August, Van Aert won the first rescheduledUCI World Tour race to be held following the COVID-19 pandemic,Strade Bianche after attacking solo with around 13 kilometres (8.1 miles) remaining.[26] The following week, Van Aert won the rescheduledMilan–San Remo after outsprinting French riderJulian Alaphilippe, the defending champion, ofDeceuninck–Quick-Step, in a two-up sprint, after the duo had broken away from the peloton on the descent of thePoggio di San Remo.[27]
Van Aert started the 2021 road season on 6 March atStrade Bianche and came in fourth place.[31]
He then rodeTirreno–Adriatico with overall aspirations, winning the opening stage in a bunch sprint ahead of elite sprinters likeCaleb Ewan andElia Viviani.[32] After consistent and strong performances in the rest of the race, including a victory in the last stage, a 10.1-kilometre (6.3-mile)individual time trial,[33] he managed to win the points classification and finish second in the general classification behind2020 Tour de France winnerTadej Pogačar.[34]
On 7 July Van Aert won Stage 11 of theTour de France by attacking on the last climb ofMont Ventoux, over 32 kilometres (20 miles) from the finish.[38] Afterwards Van Aert said this victory on such an iconic mountain stage "may be the best victory of my career".[39] On 17 July, Van Aert won Stage 20, which was a 30.8-kilometre (19.1-mile) individual time trial, in the time of 35 minutes, 53 seconds.[40] The following day, Van Aert won the 108.4-kilometre (67.4-mile) final stage of the race to take his third stage win at the race, crossing the finish line on theChamps-Élysées, ahead ofJasper Philipsen andMark Cavendish.[41] After the race, Van Aert said that his results were "priceless",[42] as he became the first rider to win a mountain stage, an individual time trial and a bunch sprint in the same Tour sinceBernard Hinault in1979.[43]
In theOlympic road race he finished 1 minute, 7 seconds behind winnerRichard Carapaz but won the sprint in the chasing group, earning the silver medal.[44]
Van Aert started the 2022 road season with a win inOmloop Het Nieuwsblad after a 13-kilometre (8.1-mile) solo attack.[47] He then won the time trial inParis–Nice,[48] as well as the points classification.[49] In the firstmonument of the year,Milan–San Remo, Van Aert came 8th.[50] He then won theE3 Saxo Bank Classic in an uncontested sprint with teammateChristophe Laporte, after the duo attacked together on thePaterberg with 40 kilometres (25 miles) remaining to the finish inHarelbeke; they finished the race over 90 seconds ahead of the next group.[51] In the lead-up to theTour of Flanders, Van Aert tested positive forCOVID-19,[52] and missed the race along with the subsequent Amstel Gold Race. After two weeks without racing, Van Aert returned with a second place inParis–Roubaix.[53] A week later, he came third on his debut in theArdennes monumentLiège–Bastogne–Liège.[54]
Van Aert wearing the green jersey ofpoints classification leader at the2022 Tour de France. He won three stages during the race, and won the points classification.
Van Aert started off theTour de France with three second-place finishes on the three stages to be held inDenmark,[55] and thus held the yellow and green jerseys as the race returned to French soil. Stage 4 was expected to be another bunch sprint finish, but with 10 kilometres to goTeam Jumbo–Visma orchestrated an attack up the final climb of the day, the 900-metre (3,000-foot) ascent up Cote du Cap Blanc-Nez. At the top of the climb, Van Aert broke free and rode solo to the finish, with enough time in hand for a bird-like celebration as he crossed the finish line.[56][57]Eurosport analyst and former professional cyclistAdam Blythe commented that he had "never seen a rider do that in the yellow jersey", andNBC Sports commentatorPhil Liggett said that the attack reminded him ofEddy Merckx.[58][59] He lost the yellow jersey on stage six, after forcing the breakaway withQuinn Simmons andJakob Fuglsang (later dropping both), he was eventually caught and dropped; he was designated as the most aggressive rider on the stage.[60]
Stage 8 looked to be a day for a breakaway to win, but Team Jumbo–Visma kept it in check and the stage ended in an uphill bunch sprint inLausanne, withMichael Matthews and yellow jersey holderTadej Pogačar leading it out. Van Aert at first appeared blocked in, but when a gap appeared, he surged to his second win in the race and his eighth stage win overall.[61] Two further top-ten finishes in the second week extended his points classification lead, and early in the final week, had an unassailable lead with more than double the points of Pogačar, who was second.[62] On stage 18, which ended with a mountaintop finish onHautacam, Van Aert attacked at kilometre zero. He was brought back, but then attacked again in the following breakaways and essentially stayed away all day. On the final climb he broke the final two breakaway riders inThibaut Pinot andDaniel Martínez, and assisted in the pacing for his teammate and race leaderJonas Vingegaard against Pogačar.[63] He won theindividual time trial on stage 20,[64] and was named the race's most aggressive rider, winning thecombativity award.[65] On thefinal day in Paris he crossed the finish line about a minute after the sprinters, together with his surviving teammates; with Van Aert winning the green jersey and Vingegaard winning the yellow jersey, Team Jumbo–Visma became the first team to win both jerseys since German ridersJan Ullrich andErik Zabel in1997, withTeam Telekom.[66]
During the2022 Tour de France,Netflix filmed a documentary titledTour de France: Unchained following the riders and teams through the tour including Van Aert andTeam Jumbo–Visma.[73] Van Aert has commented that he disagrees with how he is portrayed in the series, stating that the series "focused on commotion".[74][75]
Van Aert suffered a high-speed crash around 70 km from the finish line ofDwars Door Vlaanderen, fracturing his collarbone and several ribs.[85] This prevented him from finishing the race, and from starting several other classics. He failed to win any stages at theTour de France, and he placed only 8th in thepoints classification.
He broke his drought of stage wins at his firstVuelta a España, winning stage 3 in thered jersey[86] and taking thegreen jersey fromKaden Groves in doing so.[87] He went on to win stage 7[88] after losing stage 5 toPavel Bittner in a photo finish,[89] throwing his bike before the finish line - a tactical error that cost him the stage. He attacked from the breakaway withQuentin Pacher before the final climb of stage 10, outsprinting Pacher at the finish to take his third stage win and sixth podium finish of the 2024 Vuelta.[90] Van Aert also took the polka-dot jersey fromAdam Yates after stage 13,[91] taking maximum points in theKing of the Mountains classification from the breakaway. However, KoM second placeMarc Soler wore the jersey during stage 14 as van Aert remained in green. He abandoned the race during stage 16 after crashing on a wet descent less than 50 km from the finish.[92][93] Visma-Lease a Bike, later confirmed that Van Aert hadn’t suffered any fractures as a result of the crash and that he withdrew due to severe knee pain as a result of the crash.[94] This left Visma-Lease a Bike with only five riders in the race, as van Aert's teammatesDylan van Baarle andCian Uijtdebroeks had previously withdrawn.[92]
On 18 September 2024, it was announced that van Aert had re-signed with Visma–Lease a Bike until the end of his career.[95]
Van Aert married Sarah de Bie in 2018,[96] and the couple have two sons, born in 2021 and 2023.[97] Van Aert withdrew from the2023 Tour de France before stage 18 to return home for the birth of their second child. Their second child, Jerome, was born shortly after Van Aert left the race.[98]
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