So close to however up to now. Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) got here inside a whisker of getting his Vuelta a España debut off to one of the best of begins within the opening time trial at Lisbon however as an alternative needed to accept third place, with a doable crack on the lead within the levels to return as a serious comfort prize.
Last to begin within the 12 kilometres ultra-flat TT check alongside the shoreline of the River Tagus, Van Aert managed to safe the quickest time by the mid-way checkpoint, one second quicker than Czech National TT champion Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek).
However, the ultimate section within the uncovered race didn’t see Van Aert keep his benefit. He dropped off the tempo barely, repeating his third place of the latest Olympic Games TT, fractions of a second behind Vacek and two seconds behind stage winner and opening Vuelta chief Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates).
Van Aert remained upbeat, nonetheless, telling Eurosport and different media afterwards that he had “every thing to play for” within the levels to return. And as one of many prime sprinters within the 2024 Vuelta a España subject, even a 3rd place time bonus at a stage end, price 4 seconds within the Spanish Grand Tour, would possibly simply be sufficient to place Van Aert into crimson, maybe as quickly as Sunday.
“I didn’t really feel nice, I simply felt good, however too quickly within the TT it began to harm,” Van Aert mentioned afterwards, “and at that time, it was nonetheless a protracted approach to the end.”
“I don’t know actually what the total result’s, I believe I completed fairly quick [far back], however my feeling was not what I hoped for.”
The final rider down the beginning ramp, Van Aert mentioned that he was glad he opted to begin so late within the day, given the wind was dropping slightly by that time. At the very least, he mentioned, “There was much less wind than within the recon.”
“It was the appropriate choice, it was only a disgrace to not end it off. But if we couldn’t end any nearer as a result of the legs weren’t nice, we nonetheless needs to be completely happy.”
As for what the longer term now holds, Van Aert has promised to combat for stage wins all through the Vuelta and as he mentioned “I’m additionally desirous about the crimson jersey. So if I’m nonetheless shut I’ll give it a shot within the subsequent few days, for certain we’ll go for it within the dash.”
When knowledgeable that there was solely a margin of two seconds between himself and McNulty, Van Aert responded, “Then there’s every thing to play for. That’s nice.”
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