Wout van Aert and Visma-Lease a Bike have already begun their preparations for the 2026 cobbled Spring Classics with a recon of the roads of Paris-Roubaix and equipment testing up the iconic five-star Carrefour de l'Arbre sector in northern France.
Alongside several teammates, Van Aert and Co. were photographed on their annual test by Flemish daily newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws, as they wrapped up warm for the grim weather, which could well be similar to what greets them during the Hell of the North come April.
Van Aert, just one day prior, had been entertaining the nation off the bike, as he appeared on the TV quiz show 'De Slimste Mens ter Wereld' (The Smartest Person in the World). Though he was fully back in business on the cobbles.
HLN reported that the Belgian star was alongside Christophe Laporte, newcomer to the WorldTour team Timo Kielich, and a new Visma Development team arrival, Aldo Taillieu, for several across up the Carrefour de l'Arbre.
It's a typical deciding section of Roubaix, which Van Aert knows all too well, having punctured out of contention for victory there in 2023, allowing long-term rival Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) to ride solo to victory.
The Dutchman has won the last three editions of Paris-Roubaix, the race Van Aert has long said is the one he most wants to win. Through a mixture of bad luck, inconsistent form and Van der Poel sometimes simply being too good, Van Aert has finished seventh, second, third and fourth in the past four editions, but has not yet won it.
He had a consistently strong Classics campaign as always in 2025, but fourth in all of the Tour of Flanders, Roubaix and Amstel Gold would have been disappointing as the likes of Van der Poel and Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) rode to the victories. Not forgetting his heartbreaking loss at Dwars door Vlaanderen to Neilson Powless from a Visma three-on-one.
Van Aert bounced back after the Classics this past season and resumed his winning ways with a stunning triumph on the gravel stage of the Giro d'Italia to Siena. On the final day of the Tour de France, he became the only rider to drop Pogačar on a climb in 2025 and claimed a memorable victory in Paris.
In terms of the testing, not much is different for Visma's cobbled Classics squad, with equipment providers Cervélo, SRAM, Reserve, and Vittoria staying the same, but another refresh of the experimental GRAVAA adjustable tyre pressure system – which women's teammate Pauline Ferrand-Prévot operated en route to her Paris-Roubaix victory last year – can always help.
With serious business getting underway for Visma's top riders in France, the next step won't be another quiz show appearance, but important medical testing, photoshoots and media responsibilities to set them up for 2026.
This will take place in the Netherlands, before the men in yellow and black head to their first training camp on Spain's east coast, as will most of the WorldTour teams.
Van Aert's situation is slightly unique, however, as he is one of several multi-discipline riders on Visma-Lease a Bike who should be racing cyclocross this winter. Het Laatste Nieuws reported that Van Aert's return to the off-road world can be expected no earlier than December 20.
The UCI World Cup in Antwerp takes place on that date, which has also been signposted as a potential CX return date for Van der Poel, so the rivalry could be renewed earlier than initially anticipated.
