Those who thought they were tears of disappointment were disappointed. Wout van Aert could not hide his emotions in Rimini. They were, however contradictory it may sound, tears of joy after his third place in the opening stage. Sven Nys and Christophe Vandegoor analyse in our podcast.
Last year, emotions were already running high for Wout van Aert in the opening weekend of the Tour de France. In the second stage to San Sebastian, he missed the flosj after the finale had not gone smoothly.
Yesterday in Rimini, Van Aert won the sprint of the peloton with ease after a murderous stage, but the jackpot was no longer there to shine. Van Aert and co could no longer catch the DSM tandem, third place was the highest achievable.
When Van Aert appeared to our reporter, he could not hold back his tears. “This is very good after a difficult period”, he showed especially the human side of the story.
“His result already means a lot,” Sven Nys and Christophe Vandegoor look back in the first episode of our podcast Sporza Tour. “We can only estimate it from a distance, but it’s mainly about the run-up to this Tour.”
The emotions came from deep down. Remarkable, because Van Aert doesn’t always show them. Imagine if he had won and taken the yellow jersey…
Sven Nys
“Van Aert cut back on his cyclocross season, but fell in a horrible way when his week was supposed to start. He came to the Tour with a lot of uncertainty and that was clearly not a given.”
“The emotions came from deep down,” our radio commentators realize. “Remarkable, because Van Aert doesn’t always show them. That betrays where he’s coming from. Imagine if he had won and taken the yellow jersey…”
“”He’s back”, would have been the title. He’s back too, that much is clear. There were emotions, but on the other hand he also thought: “Damn!” It would have been very big.”
Rock hard head
Sven Nys characterizes Wout van Aert without hesitation as “an incredible character person”. “His talent is beyond doubt, but there is also a huge workload in his story. He has a rock-hard head and always fights back.”
“Wout sometimes doubts, but many riders in his place would have needed much more time and energy to be where he is now. He never got into trouble on this course, right?”
“It is a huge boost for the coming period,” Christophe Vandegoor is already looking ahead to the rest of the Tour and the Olympic Games.
“There were doubts with Van Aert,” Nys concludes, “but he is not doing that badly. There was just uncertainty after that long inactivity. And that is now gone.”
“There are still many beautiful things to come. He will certainly get more opportunities and the Games will indeed follow.”
“Wout can still grow, physically and mentally. There will be disappointment somewhere, but the joy will prevail.”
Tour de France classification
Related:
Tour de France
date start – finish type ridetotalwinnerleader
1
29/06 Florence – Rimini
206 km
Romain Bardet
2
30/06 Cesenatico – Bologna
199,2 km
Tadej Pogacar
3
01/07 Piacenza – Tour
230,8 km
Richard Carapaz
4
02/07 Pinerolo – Valloire
139,6 km
5
03/07 Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne – Saint-Vulbas
177,4 km
6
04/07 Macon – Dijon
163,5 km
7
05/07 Nuits-Saint-Georges – Gevrey-Chambertin
25,3 km
8
06/07 Semur-en-Auxois – Colombey-les-Deux-Églises
183,4 km
9
07/07 Troyes – Troyes
199 km
rest day 08/07
10
09/07 Orléans – Saint-Amand-Montrond
187,3 km
11
10/07 Evaux-les-Bains – Le Lioran
211 km
12
11/07 Aurillac – Villeneuve-sur-Lot
203,6 km
13
12/07 Agent – Pau
165,3 km
14
13/07 Pau – Pla d’Adet
151,9 km
15
14/07 Loudenvielle – Beille Plateau
197,7 km
rest day 15/07
16
16/07 Gruissan – Nîmes
188,6 km
17
17/07 Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux – Superdévoluy
177,8 km
18
18/07 Gap – Barcelonnette
179,5 km
19
19/07 Embrun – Island 2000
144,6 km
20
20/07 Nice – Col de la Couillole
132,8 km
21
21/07 Monaco – Nice
33,7 km
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