In Vive le Vélo Maarten Vangramberen once again knew the tastemaker of this Tour Wout van Aert to tie: “After the finish I let the emotion run wild,” said Van Aert after his time trial triumph near Limoges. “I honestly didn’t know what was happening to me.”
“I’m tired after a tough Tour and it all came out a bit. We experienced so many special moments. It’s still hard to comprehend.”
At the finish, Van Aert had a bonus of no less than 42 seconds over world champion Filippo Ganna: “I have not beaten him often and certainly not with such margins. I had the feeling that I had set up a strong time trial, but when the classification men left I was still afraid of a Copenhagen scenario.”
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Still wanted the yellow jersey Jonas Vingegaard No longer diving under Van Aert’s time: “Apparently he had told the team management that if it came between him and me that he wanted to know in advance. Jonas (Vingegaard) only wanted to defend his yellow jersey. That happened. , otherwise it would have been close,” Van Aert continues.
“It shows what a champion he is. I meant a lot to him in this Tour, but he also meant a lot to me.”
How come Jumbo-Visma has become such a close-knit team? “Those many altitude training camps near Tignes have something to do with it,” says the green jersey. “That preparation makes us a close-knit team and we’re also starting to know each other as friends off the race.”
“In this team, the performance is always number 1 and no other interests that actually don’t matter. Everything here is arranged down to the last detail. That is of course also very important to reach the top.”
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A tour de force in Calais, a brilliant sprint in Lausanne and then also the time trial towards Rocamadour. This Tour is full of Wout van Aert moments. However, the green jersey will also carry another great achievement.
“That ride to Hautacam was really special for me. People will remember the release of Tadej Pogacar, but for me it’s mainly about attacking from kilometer 0 and also riding a strong final. That was my best performance of this Tour .”
Van Aert also retains the Super Fighting spirit: “That is a great recognition. You don’t make it a goal in advance, but it is nice to take with you.”
Sprint one more time on the Champs-Elysées? “I feel very tired now. Maybe the finish will inspire me again, but we’ll see. I’ll be happy when we cross the finish line one last time tomorrow (tonight).”
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