๐™‘๐™–๐™ฃ ๐˜ผ๐™š๐™ง๐™ฉ ๐™จ๐™ฉ๐™–๐™ฎ๐™จ ๐™ข๐™ค๐™ฉ๐™ž๐™ซ๐™–๐™ฉ๐™š๐™™ ๐™™๐™š๐™จ๐™ฅ๐™ž๐™ฉ๐™š ๐™˜๐™ค๐™ช๐™ฃ๐™ฉ๐™ก๐™š๐™จ๐™จ ๐™˜๐™ค๐™ข๐™š๐™—๐™–๐™˜๐™ ๐™จ: “๐˜ผ๐™ž๐™ข ๐™๐™ž๐™œ๐™๐™š๐™ง ๐™ฉ๐™๐™–๐™ฃ ๐™ฉ๐™๐™š ๐™ฉ๐™–๐™ง๐™œ๐™š๐™ฉ ๐™—๐™š๐™˜๐™–๐™ช๐™จ๐™š ๐™ฉ๐™๐™š ๐™–๐™ง๐™ง๐™ค๐™ฌ ๐™™๐™ง๐™ค๐™ฅ๐™จ ๐™™๐™ช๐™ง๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™œ ๐™›๐™ก๐™ž๐™œ๐™๐™ฉ… ๐™๐™š๐™–๐™™ ๐™ˆ๐™ค๐™ง๐™š

 

This quote came from a Strava post on July 2, after Vanโ€ฏAert ended a two-day break due to illness. He rode 148โ€ฏkm with strong pace and captioned:

โ€œAim higher than the target because the arrow drops during flight.โ€

๐Ÿ” What it means:

  • Itโ€™s a metaphor for sports and setbacks: plan big because real-life challenges (fatigue, illness, crashes) will always knock you down a bit.
  • He aimed high โ€” targeting a strong Tour de France start โ€” understanding heโ€™d likely fall short, but ensuring he still delivered a strong performance.
  • ๐Ÿ’ช Recurrent comeโ€‘backs fuel bold ambition

  • He posted โ€œComeback number lost countโ€ after resuming training post-flu โ€” showing he’s used to bouncing back.
  • For Spring Classics, Vanโ€ฏAert also shared that a break from competition helped reset his hunger. He said it was โ€œgood to be away for a few monthsโ€ฆ Iโ€™m hungry againโ€

๐Ÿง  Mental strength amid adversity

  • In Parisโ€‘Roubaix, a fall shook him โ€” he admitted being more affected mentally than expected โ€” yet stayed determined for upcoming races
  • His coach noted occasional fear post-crash in early classics, but Vanโ€ฏAert worked through it and โ€œgrown mentally,โ€ regaining confidence for the season

๐ŸŽฏ Daring to dream bigger

  • From early in the season, he’s expressed readiness:

    โ€œI have to dare to aim highโ€ฆ with the track record โ€ฆ I have to dare to aim high. And that means going for the two Monumentsโ€

  • Despite crashes in 2024, he begins 2025 hoping simply to stay on his bike โ€” eager to race instead of watching from the sidelines .

๐Ÿงฉ Final Take

Wout vanโ€ฏAert’s mindset is rooted in aiming high to outpace inevitable setbacksโ€”whether illness, injury, or fatigue. His Strava metaphor captures a blend of ambition, realism, and resilience. His psychological recovery from crashes, paired with a bold approach to Classics and Tour stages, cements him as one of the toughest and most mentally agile riders in modern cycling.

Want to dive into how that mentality plays out in a specific race (Roubaix, Tour stages, Classics)?