Team Visma | Lease a Bike have had a mixed Tour de France, missing out on the overall win but succeeding outside of that specific goal. Whilst the team was Tadej Pogacar’s only rival, it’s focus on the GC often hindered it’s ability to chase stage wins. However, Wout van Aert managed to end the race on a bright note with a memorable solo win on the Champs-Élysées.
“Every stage win in the Tour is important, but this is fantastic for Wout and for us,” Heijboer shared with Sporza. “His preparation wasn’t ideal. Wout didn’t come here at his best, and the race was also very difficult. Every day was very fast, and the GC riders were always going for it. That combination—not being super fit and a super-tough Tour—made it very tough. His best stages were in the first week, and in this Tour, you really had to be at your best. The level was so high.”
At the Giro d’Italia the Belgian came in undercooked after an illness and struggled in the first days of the race, but then sprung into his best self at the Strade Bianche stage where he stormed to victory ahead of Isaac del Toro. He then proved to be a key player in Simon Yates’ overall victory, jumping into the breakaway on stage 20 and providing the Briton with someone to bridge across after his attack on the Colle delle Finestre.
At the Tour de France the Belgian also didn’t have his best legs in the opening week, being in the front of affairs on a few days but overall not being able to climb as he had hoped for. He mostly stayed at domestique roles, whilst from the second week onwards he attempted to go for a stage win often.
Turns out the pieces of the puzzle wouldn’t click until stage 21, where Visma put out a strong collective performance, and then Van Aert had the legs to follow that up with an attack on Montmartre which dropped Tadej Pogacar, much to the team’s delight on the rainy Champs-Élysées.
“But Wout always kept believing, even in the final weekend. You could see in the opening stages that he couldn’t handle the level, and then racing is very fair. Wout didn’t give up, kept working for it, and kept believing. And now he’s being rewarded”.