Wout van Aert was close to his first stage victory in this year’s Tour de France on Saturday. The Belgian from Visma-Lease a Bike surprised by joining the mass sprint, but had to acknowledge Jonathan Milan, the green jersey wearer, as his superior.
Van Aert mainly rides in the Tour de France in service of leader Jonas Vingegaard. On Saturday, he still went for his own chance.
“When you start, you have every right to go for a result,” Van Aert said afterwards to Sporza‘s camera. “It’s also nice for me to ride a result once in a while.”
The thirty-year-old Belgian could therefore live with his second place, behind the dominant Milan. “I was close and I am satisfied,” he reacted. “My legs were good yesterday, today too. As I said beforehand: it is difficult for me to beat guys like Milan.”
Nevertheless, Van Aert wanted to go for his chance, even though he had previously indicated that this was not a likely scenario. That was a little white lie, he admitted afterwards. “I’ll announce it next time and put it on Twitter (the current X, ed.),” he winked.
On Sunday there is another flat stage, which will most likely result in a mass sprint. Van Aert did not want to confirm whether he will sprint again in Châteauroux. “I’ll think about it. Maybe I’ll put it on Twitter, although I don’t know if I still know my password.”