‘That has sunk in now’ – Wout van Aert realises ‘bigger picture’ of Paris stage win at Tour de France in return to hometown criterium

Belgium’s Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) enjoyed a hometown welcome at the post-Tour de France criterium in Herentals on Thursday night, with his solo stage win on the final day in Paris finally sinking in.

As one of the very few people to ride Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) off his wheel in the past two seasons, Van Aert was able to savour his second victory on the Champs-Élysées after a stunning day in Montmartre a little bit longer, with 30,000 out in Herentals celebration of some of the Tour’s top riders.

Had he rewatched the manic scenes from last Sunday again? “That happened naturally, because I didn’t see much else when I opened my phone. That was nice,” Van Aert told Sporza. “I also understood better then why so many people were impressed.

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“I was happy with my victory, but you don’t always see the bigger picture, yet. That has sunk in now.”

After a few days off the bike, he arrived by car with his family for the evening of festivities in the city where he resides, and won the exhibition race ahead of green jersey Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) and fellow Tour stage winner Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck).

“Am I rested after the Tour? I tried, but I’ve already had a few small celebrations. I’m not feeling completely fresh, but I’ll be fine today,” said Van Aert.

“I’m still a bit tired and haven’t taken care of myself the past few days like an athlete should. I’ve been lying on the couch a lot, playing with the kids occasionally, but also having a few nice parties,” he added, talking to Nieuwsblad.

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“I thought that was only right. You don’t win on the Champs-Élysées every year, and it was a victory I had to work incredibly hard for.”

According to the Belgian newspaper, the Belgian won’t be seen in a race again until August 20, for the Deutschland Tour, but may also appear at the Belgian National Gravel Championships in Westerlo three days before that.

The big question that all the Flemish press were eager to ask Van Aert was whether he would indeed ride at the Rwanda World Championships towards the end of September or not. He admitted he hasn’t given it much thought, but didn’t rule it out.

“I haven’t had any contact with the national coach [Serge Pauwels] yet, and the World Championships haven’t been on my mind these past few days,” admitted Van Aert.

“The World Championships are a great race that I always want to ride, but it has to be meaningful.”