Wout van Aert may leave the Tour of France early on; “I don’t want to miss the birth of my second son”
hln.be/wielrennen/ik-ben-niet-van-plan-om-de-...Posted Jun 14, 2023, 8:04 PM UTC
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Unchained season 2 is writing itself
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Jonas looking angry at Wout's child
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Grischa Niermann: "Today, we're all working to protect Jonas for the GC"
Wout: "Actually, I'm going home"
Grischa Niermann: *shocked pickachu face* ^(may be a random shot from 20 minutes earlier)
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Jonas getting served sunny side up eggs and not scrambled like he ordered at the hotel: "I'm upset".
Netflix producers: "that's in the box!"
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Jonas doesn't have to act for angry face. Just have one camera always on him.
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Wout’s child is unafraid, knowing by the 2024 TdF he’ll be 10lbs larger than Jonas and able to fend for himself.
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Every season needs a villain
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Wout Jr. #2
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Looking forward to the TJV recreation of this scene
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It's gonna have a sitcom style episode with the uncoventional childbirth plot
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I feel like it’s going to be a “Wout - child incoming!” And he jumps off the bike mid race, the support chopper is there and he flies off to Belgium half hanging off the chopper Tom Cruise mission Impossible style!
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Wout is going to troll Jonas hard by leaving the Tour early and naming his second son Tadej.
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“I’m gonna name this kid after whoever wins the tour ;)”
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GC Wout at La Vuelta
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I desperately want one of these cyclocross guys to cross over to GC. I know it’ll never happen, but I’d love to see MvdP try to finish what his grandfather started.
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We’ll probably see it with Pidcock eventually. Wout and MvdP are both just a bit too big. And would have to sacrifice too much of what they’re good at now to really have an honest crack at it
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I agree with this comment. Pidcock doesn’t have the bulk of the other two - WVA has actually come out and said that physiologically he can’t do the gc /climbs because the body just can’t produce (insert technical term here) that it needs to and he doesn’t have anymore weight to lose there isn’t anything left to lose!
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Vosje with her 8 CX World titles and 3 Giro Rosa GC wins has shown it is possible.
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3 Giro Rosa GC
10 years ago. How many riders of those events' peloton were even fully professional?
A sport getting bigger brings specialization. The gap between men's and women's cycling (in funding, number of teams/riders etc.) is still present even now. 10 years ago it was much bigger. Vos is a great athlete and achieved huge things, but even Eddy Merckx would not get comparable results in men's peloton if riding in 2010s.
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I didn't mean to turn this into another men vs women debate - the men are faster and more professional. No question about it and I didn't mean to imply anything else.
Vos still winning in a much more pro women's peloton, and still winning CX World titles last year puts her previous wins into perspective too though. Even now she is an impressively strong and competitive rider, so just writing off her (many) GC wins as dated is too easy.
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Also how’s this for timing - the actual due date is after the tour and before the worlds in Glasgow - that’s like a 2 week window!
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After watching Unchained, I’m imagining a scenario where this happens to Ben O’Connor.
The AG2R DS just tells him (mostly in French) that everything is going to be fine, he has organised a C-section for his partner at 27 weeks, and they will have a mobile incubator (a picnic box with some isotonic drinks) in the team car if necessary. No need to discuss further.
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Looks it’s just Monday then Tuesday then Wednesday
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This makes me laugh the more I read it - fml that manager is a d*ck - poor Ben
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I was watching it with my sister who doesn’t watch cycling… she was like you can’t be serious
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We’re just going to see how tomorrow goes
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seems like wout didn't plan this well... dont conceive in the offseason!
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Problem is, its harder to conceive in the team hotel.
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Well he only said he wanted to see the birth of the child. So maybe he planned that really well.
“Honey, we have a 2-week window to conceive to line up with my schedule. So it’s now or never. Don’t be coming at me next week, it won’t work.”
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Since Roglic isn't going to the TDF, I've been quietly speculating whether Wout is secretly preparing to be more than just a domestique in the mountains this time, and instead would maintain a good GC as long as possible. This tandem along with Vingegaard would/could be a tactical weapon against Pogacar.
I can finally shelve that thought now. And knowing how deranged it was, I am glad I never told anyone about it.
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Pogi is too smart to fall for Wout GC crap. Was different last year when nobody knew how bad Roglič felt. Maybe TJV will shock us with Roglič on TDF start line. Only reason I would feel safer if i was Jonas, after Wout saying he could DNS earlier in the race... but TJV basically wrote Roglič off completely for this years TDF if we look at multiple interviewes this month. Who knows... we wait for 2 weeks and see what is what
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Pogi and his team chased down Wout last year even on non-GC stages. They definitely considered him a GC threat and Wout even said in an interview how stupid that was lol.
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im sure they learned their lesson though
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At the same time, do you really want to create a Voeckler situation by not chasing him down?
Even if you're 99% sure you can take back al the time in the mountains, do you want to risk him hanging on?
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UAE has chased down Van Aert 2 years in a row already. I even remember Pogi saying that they were afraid of WvA either last year or the year before.
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This is because he nullifies attacks on penultimate climbs, either by closing gaps on the descents or in the following valley.
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Didn't Wout attack on a climb last year and drop both Pog and Jonas ?
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Pretty sure Roglic is with his family since the Giro too
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Jep, I dont see him doing TDF. Let the dude rest, he earned it.
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It's obvious TJV are going to ride Jonas, WvA, Kuss and Kelderman as quadruple GC threat.
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Movistar ‘taking notes’
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Obviously it would be the right thing to do, absolutely no question. However as a team or even Jonas I’d imagine you would be a little nervous! Imagine he leaves halfway / he is such a powerhouse it will definitely have an impact. Also whilst he is in the tour, if you know you have a birth any moment surely you aren’t 100% there. I know I would be pretty anxious! It’s a big deal.
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I can relate to his stress. It’s pretty much like the time when I wasn’t fat and was a svelte, fit, imposing Cat 4 racing the Wednesday night parking lot crit practice series, knowing my wife was preggers and could pop. I’d constantly look to the side of the track, begging a friend’s eyes, “has she called, is baby coming?” on every lap, unable to pull off myself and check my buzzing phone, lest the glory of Wednesday night bypass. She did not go into labor whilst I heaved my overpriced-for-an-amateur bike through the pack, ungracefully. But the exit plan to leave the race was always there. And the fact it remained in my head is probably the reason I couldn’t fully live up to the world’s expected Wednesday night glory. Granted, a too old and unskilled amateur here and one of history’s greats in Wout, but definitely (not) the same thing. Do what ya need to, Wout. Wednesday glory ain’t going anywhere, but eventually it’s not as glorious as beer.
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Some people react to stress and anxiousness this way, others actively seek distraction in intense work, sports, or hobbies.
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Knowing somewhat the values of Vingegaard. I think he would tell Wout to choose family over cycling any day. But I understand what you are saying.
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I agree with you also! I 100% think that is what Jonas would say, absolutely sure of it.
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It's a good thing that the sportingworld seems to becoming more acceptable of this sort of thing, but him leaving would suck from an entertainment POV
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jonas was so sweet with his wife and child at TdF 2022- i was there at the depart of the stage that began in carcassonne and he gave them both a kiss before the neutral start. i’m sure while it would not be to jonas’s competitive advantage, there wouldn’t be any hard feelings about it
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I find that so many of the riders are family men - like they love having their kids around. It’s really nice to see. Mind you, after reading an interview with Wauts wife, he is away between 150-200 nights a year. It would be so hard for both parents!! I’d miss my son so much
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Must be hard for Wout’s wife doing all the work, you mean?
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Probably helps that he's earning millions and can retire when still young.
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didn't this happen to cancellara in the past? he left after a stage to be there on the day of the birth and came back for the next one
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If only Wout's wife could give birth on a rest day, then it's win win!!
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Or at least at night. Preferably when the Tour is somewhere near Belgium.
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Not at all the case this year, except on the final weekend (still a 4-5 hour drive from Northern Belgium)
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No sex in October - Leigh matthews
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Real quote? Lmao
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Close it was “no sex in January” because during 2000 Leigh was coaching and one of his stars had to leave a final for the birth of a child, so in 2001 he told his players that and they won the next 3 championships
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Well its not the all star break in the MLB...
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I remember Vingegaard saying in an interview, they’d timed his wife’a pregnancy perfectly with his first Tour in 2020. But then the Tour was postponed and Jonas didn’t want to miss the birth, so he delayed his debut in the Tour a year.
So yeah, if there’s a second season of Unchained, we’ll see Jonas be completely baffled by Wout’s priorities.
But finger’s crossed everything works out, so Wout can both finish the Tour and be there at the birth.
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You take 15 stages of Wout over 21 of almost any other Jumbo rider.
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So how would this work exactly? Can he even get to his wife in time if the baby is suddenly coming while he is in a race? Or would he just pre-emptively step out somewhere at the end of the Tour?
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Well if she goes into labour - they let him know and he somehow gets out of there. Sometimes you have a day before anything happens sometimes you have hours! (And not many at that) it’s the risk he is running unfortunately - like there could be a chance he misses it - second child they can sometimes fly out pretty fast. 💁🏼♀️
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second child they can sometimes fly out pretty fast.
My cousin was popped out in the hospital elevator for this reason. My nephew was born before my brother and SIL even got checked in (and the car was running outside lol). Second children don't mess around.
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Wva needs to use condoms october and november. It is rough but take one for the team wva!
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Pretty sad. Wout gets paid to perform at the TdF, if he wanted to make sure he would be there for the birth he should have timed it during CX season.
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You have no idea how long they could have been trying for. You don’t get to choose these things and it’s def not our place to comment. This child is a blessing to them and it is above the sport for him. Your comment is not where it’s at.
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Do you time your children’s births so you don’t miss important work events?
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Actually quite a lot of sportspeople (though mostly women when they want to have a child) do attempt to time pregnancies so that they collide with sports season as little as possible.
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Lots of professional athletes do.
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do you know your work events (tour + worlds) years ahead of time?
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Doesn’t matter even a little bit. You have no idea what their experience has been and it’s for nobody but then to judge or know about.
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This is /s right? Right???
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Kinda. Riders miss their children's births during the Tour almost every year though.
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You have kids?
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Fuuuuck off lad, these are people not just puppets who dance for your enjoyment
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What's sad is your attitude.
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Jonas: chuckles I'm in danger.
Limited wout, no roglic, and UAE is looking dangerous this year after some nice signings. Gonna be a fun TdF.
No Kruiswijk
They’re doomed now. Jumbo washed
No Gorilla
No Jumbo
Sepp Kuss comeback Tour
Kuss never left!
He’s remarkably consistent on exactly one type of stage. Rampa.
Depends on Pogacar’s form tho, I’m worried about a boring tdf if pogi isn’t fit
Dark horse GC favorite Ben O’Connor has entered the chat
That’s a weird way to spell Romain Bardet
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Pogi is always fit
Who says no Roglic?
Keldermerx with a steel chair!
Live footage of Kuss v. UAE climbing domestiques.