Van Aert joined by his family as he celebrates third stage win in Vuelta a España
Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) secured his third stage victory in the Vuelta a España on Tuesday, a moment made even more special by the presence of his wife Sarah and their children, Georges and Jerome, who were waiting for him at the finish line.
"It doesn't happen often that I can win when they come to visit me at a race," Van Aert shared in his post-race reaction. "This makes it extra special. Really nice to be able to achieve this today." His two children even joined him during the podium ceremony.
Van Aert's win came after a challenging hilly stage where he broke away with four other riders. "It was really my goal to be part of the breakaway, but I had a hard time on the first climb. I almost gave up but tried one more time, just before the top," he explained. "We then had to fight for another fifty kilometres to get a bit of a lead. Although that was actually to my advantage: the climbers in my group probably had less fresh legs in the final. And that's how I won."
Following his third stage win, Van Aert now enjoys a substantial lead in the points classification and has moved up to second place in the mountain classification, with several opportunities for further stage successes still ahead. "It's nice to ride a race like this when you have a versatile profile. In a situation like this, I always have a chance," he noted. "But I'm not thinking about the mountain jersey. I have my eyes set on the green points jersey, and not at all on the mountain jersey."
#FlandersNewsService |Team Visma's Wout van Aert celebrates crossing first the finish line in Baiona on 27 August, 2024, at the end of the stage 10 of La Vuelta a España cycling tour, a 160 km race between Ponteareas and Baiona.
© PHOTO MIGUEL RIOPA / AFP
Related news
