ProTeam Toon Aerts kicks off his road season in Denain

“Most riders say they’ve had a good winter. I can say I’ve had a strong second half of February and March,” Aerts smiles. He didn’t take much rest after his last cyclo-cross race, in mid-February in Lille. He put the bike aside for one week, then resumed with three weeks in Girona and another week training at home. “And suddenly my first race is already there. That month went by very quickly. At the same time, it feels like so many races have already passed without me. I’m ready to get started.”

For Aerts, it feels as if the sweet shop of Lotto–Intermarché has reopened. He joined the team last May. For the first time, he travelled with the team bus, worked for his teammates and had the nutritionist taking care of him. “I have that same feeling again now. Last year, I got my first taste of a big team. Now it’s about my first spring, my first classics campaign. A race like Denain was something I used to watch from my couch. I would usually only start training calmly towards Scheldeprijs. The cyclo-cross season also lasted three weeks longer. My calendar is now completely different. Where I could ease into it as a full-time cyclo-cross rider back then, I now need to be at my best from the very first race.”

Toon Aerts already feels good on the bike. “It’s still difficult to predict how that will translate into racing. Physically, I might still need one or two race days. The numbers I’m pushing are very good, but you can’t train for the hectic nature of the spring races. With Denain, I immediately get a very tough one in that regard,” he laughs. “After that, things can only get better, right? After Denain I’ll head to Catalunya, which is perfect to keep building. I dream of racing the Tour of Flanders or Roubaix, so I want to do everything I can to be good enough.”

Picture: Cyclingmedia_agency