Wout van Aert just rode the same Paris-Roubaix sector seven times – what is he plotting?

As many of the world’s best pro cyclists bed in for the off-season, Wout van Aert spent Tuesday morning in northern France, riding the farm tracks of Paris-Roubaix, over and over again.

So much so, in fact, that the Belgian became the Local Legend – a Strava title given to the rider who has completed a single segment the most in a 90-day period – on one of the race’s cobbled sectors: Camphin-en-Pévèle, which he rode seven times.

The 2km-long, four-star sector typically comes fifth from last in the race, with around 20km to go, just before the famous Carrefour de l’Arbre. Its difficulty is ranked four out of five stars, making it one of the most challenging stretches in the race.

So, with four months to go until the next edition of Paris-Roubaix, what is Van Aert plotting?

According to Belgian publication Het Laatste Nieuws, the reconnaissance visit came as part of Visma-Lease a Bike’s equipment testing for next season. Van Aert was accompanied by Christope Laporte, twice a top-10 finisher in the Monument, as well as two of the team’s new recruits: Timo Kielich and Aldo Taillieu.

One of the tools Visma were said to be testing was the Gravaa adjustable tire pressure system, first seen at the race in 2023, which allows riders to inflate or deflate their tires via Bluetooth buttons while riding. Pauline Ferrand-Prévot used the technology when she won the women’s race earlier this year.

Van Aert was also likely to have been testing things like tire width, wheels, and his technique over the cobbles.

Tom Davidson

You can never do too many Paris-Roubaix recons. Last year, I spoke with Magnus Bäckstedt, the winner of the race in 2004, and he told me how he went over to ride the cobbles “probably three, if not four” times ahead of the race that year alone. “With the amount of recons I had done, I probably added another five, six years of racing and understood physically what I needed to do,” Bäckstedt said. Van Aert’s made no secret of his desire to win the race – it’s no surprise he’s starting his recons early.

Van Aert shared his Tuesday recon to Strava under the name ‘Dokkeren’ – a Flemish term used to describe riding over cobblestones.

The 95km ride was concentrated only on a loop around the Camphin-en-Pévèle and Carrefour de l’Arbre sectors, the latter he appeared to ride five times. It was here, in 2023, that Van Aert suffered an untimely puncture, ruling himself out of a finale with the eventual winner Mathieu van der Poel, and finishing third.

Winning Paris-Roubaix has long been one of the Belgian’s career goals; he has twice finished on the podium (3rd, 2023; 2nd, 2022) and placed 4th this April.

Van Aert will now return to Visma-Lease a Bike’s Netherlands HQ for medical testing later this week, before heading to Spain on a team training camp next month. It is uncertain when he will begin his cyclo-cross season, although his first race is expected to be just before Christmas.