Eindelijk! – lastly! – was the single-word headline Belgian sports activities information company Sporza used to explain Wout van Aert’s victory within the Vuelta a España on Monday, and after one of many longest gaps of his profession between wins, eindelijk certainly summed up completely how Van Aert should have felt after his newest triumph, too.
Several elements have seemingly performed their half in Van Aert’s 2024 dearth of victories. But his horrible fall in Dwars door Vlaanderen this April, which sidelined the badly injured Belgian for the Giro d’Italia and solely noticed the Visma-Lease a Bike rider return to racing in late June, was virtually definitely one of many largest.
Come August, although, a 3rd place within the opening time trial of the Vuelta a España was adopted by a second place behind Kaden Groves (Deceuninck-Alpecin) on Sunday, but in addition a transfer into the Vuelta’s general lead. Then on Monday as Van Aert powered previous the Australian on the marginally uphill end in Castelo Branco, the lengthy wait for an additional win was lastly over.
With 47 victories now to his identify, the 2024 win-drought was not the longest spell of Van Aert’s profession to this point with out a victory. After a horrible fall within the 2019 Tour de France time trial at Pau, three days after triumphing in stage 10, it was greater than a 12 months earlier than he raised his arms once more, at Strade Bianche in August 2020.
However, the 2020 pandemic and absence of racing that brought on undoubtedly skewed that specific hole in wins, and whatever the statistics, the look of sheer pleasure on Van Aert’s face as he celebrated together with his teammates made it clear simply how vital to him this newest triumph actually was.
“It was a particular victory to win my first within the Vuelta and it has been a tough 12 months, it has been some time since I might elevate my arms. That makes it way more particular to win once more in the present day,” he mentioned.
“Looking again at after I gained within the Tour after I was carrying yellow [in 2022] was one in every of finest days in my profession, too, and in the present day within the chief’s jersey of the Vuelta is one thing to be very pleased with, too.”
Van Aert mentioned he had all the time been assured {that a} victory would arrive once more, however that given his standing within the crew, the truth that it stubbornly refused to reach made it more durable to simply accept.
“I take into account myself a winner, I’m one of many crew leaders, and I all the time get help to try to go for the victory, so having six months with out a win is just not good.”
“On the opposite hand, I spent an extended whereas struggling after my crash within the spring. That’s why it is so particular and even emotional to win once more. To be sincere I used to be not afraid I would not come again, I already felt sturdy sufficient within the Tour. I simply needed to be affected person and in the present day is the day.”
Van Aert mentioned that he had completely switched methods after the stage 2 bunch dash in Oerém, the place he was soundly overwhelmed by Groves, whom he later described as a deserving winner.
“The plan was to do the alternative of yesterday”, Van Aert mentioned, “I used to be in a position to get off Groves’ wheel and I feel I stunned him by going from 200 metres out.”
“My confidence was excessive, too, the crew did an ideal job all day, we had the race beneath management they usually additionally set me up ideally for the dash. That gave me the arrogance I wanted to complete it off.”
Van Aert recognised that though he might count on one other day within the general lead, stage 4’s summit end at Villuercas would virtually definitely show too tough for him and he would now hand over crew chief duties to defending Vuelta champion Sepp Kuss and younger Belgian GC contender Cian Uijtdebroeks. As he barely wryly put it, “The enjoyable is sadly over now.”
Could he someday struggle for the general himself, one Spanish journalist questioned, however Van Aert turned down the thought virtually instantly.
“It’s approach too exhausting, and I can actually do properly in a one-day race, or if I decide a day within the stage race, however one stage is coming [stage 4] the place I will likely be joyful to help my teammates.”
“Luckily after tomorrow [Tuesday] there are a number of extra alternatives when it is not a summit end, and I might need an opportunity to get in a breakaway. But both approach, after in the present day’s win it is actually good to have the morale to construct on this.”
