Wout van Aert with transfer to Ineos Grenadiers away from Jumbo Visma | Sticky Bottle

Wout Van Aert wins stage 7 at the Tour de France this year. The Belgian rider has become a legend of the sport in just a couple of seasons and any move to Ineos Grenadiers would likely get a cool reception from many cycling fans

Media reports in the Netherlands have linked Wout van Aert with a move from Jumbo Visma to Ineos Grenadiers.

While Van Aert still has a year to run on his contract
with Jumbo Visma, and the team is eager to extend his tenure, WielerFlits has reported Ineos Grenadiers is now interested in
signing the Belgian rider.

“The British team had a first meeting with Van Aert's management during the last Tour de France. Sir Dave Brailsford was enthusiastic about the opportunity to recruit the Belgian superstar,” the report states.

WielerFlits added it had “confirmed that Ineos Grenadiers and Van Aert are still talking to each other” but that Jumbo Visma wants to re-sign him in the next few weeks.

*Dave Brailsford wants to sign Wout Van Aert for Ineos Grenadiers. Any such move would not happen until after Van Aert's Jumbo Visma contract for next year expires (Photo: Marco Alpozzi)*

The developments, and the fact news of them have ended up in the Dutch media, may be a ploy by Van Aert’s representatives to put pressure on Jumbo Visma to agree to a bigger contract.

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However, Ineos Grenadiers has a proven record of targeting major riders and securing their signatures, even when their transfer to the British WorldTour outfit has initially looked unlikely.

Van Aert has been one of the most
exciting riders in the pro peloton in recent seasons, having dominated
cyclocross at times before he switched more of his focus to the road.

Any suggestion that he would be
absorbed in the Ineos Grenadiers train would very likely get a cool reception
in the Belgium and from many other fans of the sport.

However, with the spending power that
Ineos Grenadiers has, reportedly at about €50 million, many riders have already
found the money too much to resist and have given up prolific careers riding
for themselves to become super domestiques.

Van Aert this year won Strade Bianche and Milano-Sanremo this year and was also 3rd in Milano-Torino. He then went on to win a stage and the points classification at Critérium du Dauphiné before also winning the Belgian national TT title.

In the Tour de France, despite working for Primoz Roglic, he won two stages and later claimed silver in both the TT and road race at the Worlds before also finishing 2nd in the Tour of Flanders.