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PARIS (Velo) — Wout van Aert celebrated third place prefer it was a gold medal, and thanked the decision to race with a full disc wheelset because the deciding issue in hitting the elite males’s time trial podium within the Paris Olympic Video games.
An early race puncture from fourth-place finisher Josh Tarling, who completed simply exterior the medals by lower than two seconds, additionally counted.
But after a spring riddled with harm and a Tour de France stuffed with close-calls, Van Aert most well-liked to see issues as sunny-side up in wet Paris afternoon.
“I feel I’m just a few seconds quicker than Tarling. We will attribute this to the total wheels,” Van Aert informed Sporza.
“We had calculated that it may present a 17 watt benefit,” he mentioned. “Which is critical, when that helmets, socks and issues like that solely save a couple of watts. Then this was a giant win.”
Van Aert was over the moon Saturday, and was relieved to hit the Paris podium following a spring derailed by harm and a Tour de France stuffed with shut calls and close to misses, together with two seconds and one third.
Racing on full disc wheel units is unusual in outside, open-road racing, after they’re usually utilized in observe racing and world-hour report makes an attempt.
Regardless of rain and moist roads, there was little wind, and Van Aert and his coach determined to go for it.
“There was little threat in racing with these full wheels,” Van Aert mentioned. “I examined it sufficiently and was one hundred pc assured that it was a good selection. I’ve all the time felt snug on it.”
No time splits, racing on intuition
Van Aert additionally selected to race “blind,” and determined to race with out time splits between the medal favorites within the Olympic time trial.
Remco Evenepoel was unstoppable for gold, with Filippo Ganna holding on for silver.
“I consciously selected to not obtain any break up instances. I needed to provide it my all and look again to see what it had been like,” Van Aert mentioned. “I felt and noticed from my values that it was the primary time in a very long time that I had energy in a time trial and will preserve pushing.”
The bronze is value its weight in gold for Van Aert, who’s been battling by restoration since crashing closely at Dwars door Vlaanderen.
“There have been moments once I couldn’t put together for the race like I needed to,” he mentioned. “It solely within the final two months that I may begin to practice correctly.”
After a spring of frustration, Olympic salvation
And Wout van Aert’s Olympic Video games aren’t over but. The street race awaits Saturday on a protracted, grinding course that fits him nicely.
“Immediately is affirmation that I’m in good condition, that the Tour has performed me good,” Van Aert mentioned. “That’s a confidence increase heading into subsequent week. I cannot fail to pursue the gold there.”
With silver within the street race in Tokyo and bronze Saturday in time trial, now all that’s lacking is the gold medal.
The Paris course, with almost 280km and a difficult ending circuit with a punchy climb, will favor the classics-style strongmen.
Buoyed by bronze, Van Aert goes all-in for gold.
“Final winter I actually dreamed of successful a medal within the time trial,” he mentioned. “It could be ‘solely’ a bronze, however I feel few can say that for taking a medal in each the street and time trial.”
