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.
A number of elements have doubtless performed their half in Van Aert’s 2024 dearth of victories. However 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 actually 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 additionally 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 one more 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 so far 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.
Nevertheless, the 2020 pandemic and absence of racing that precipitated undoubtedly skewed that specific hole in wins, and whatever the statistics, the look of sheer pleasure on Van Aert’s face as he celebrated along with his teammates made it clear simply how necessary to him this newest triumph actually was.
“It was a particular victory to win my first within the Vuelta and it has been a troublesome 12 months, it has been some time since I may increase my arms. That makes it way more particular to win once more right this moment,” he stated.
“Trying again at after I received within the Tour after I was sporting yellow [in 2022] was one in all greatest days in my profession, too, and right this moment within the chief’s jersey of the Vuelta is one thing to be very happy with, too.”
Van Aert stated he had all the time been assured {that a} victory would arrive once more, however that given his standing within the group, the truth that it stubbornly refused to reach made it more durable to just accept.
“I take into account myself a winner, I am one of many group leaders, and I all the time get help to try to go for the victory, so having six months with out a win shouldn’t be good.”
“Alternatively, I spent a protracted whereas struggling after my crash within the spring. That is 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 right this moment is the day.”
Van Aert stated that he had completely switched methods after the stage 2 bunch dash in Oerém, the place he was soundly crushed by Groves, whom he later described as a deserving winner.
“The plan was to do the alternative of yesterday”, Van Aert stated, “I used to be capable of get off Groves’ wheel and I believe I stunned him by going from 200 metres out.”
“My confidence was excessive, too, the group did an ideal job all day, we had the race underneath management and so they 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 may count on one other day within the general lead, stage 4’s summit end at Villuercas would virtually actually show too troublesome for him and he would now hand over group 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.”
May he sooner or later struggle for the general himself, one Spanish journalist puzzled, however Van Aert turned down the thought virtually instantly.
“It is method too laborious, and I can actually do properly in a one-day race, or if I choose a day within the stage race, however one stage is coming [stage 4] the place I can be completely satisfied to help my teammates.”
“Fortunately after tomorrow [Tuesday] there are a number of extra alternatives when it is not a summit end, and I may need an opportunity to get in a breakaway. However both method, after right this moment’s win it is actually good to have the morale to construct on this.”
