Deliverance! After three consecutive second places in the Tour de France, Wout van Aert won a magnificent success on Tuesday on the 4th stage after a colossal effort in the coast of Cap Blanc Nez, about ten kilometers from the finish. Well led by his teammates, WVA let everyone go to raise their arms alone in Calais. An incredible performance which got the whole peloton in agreement. Even another cycling monster: Tadej Pogacar.
“It’s crazy. Wout is half man, half engine. When he leaves like that, no one can follow him. I would have liked to, but it was not possible. He is truly amazing“. These words came from the mouth of Primoz Rogliciteammate of van Aert and leader of the Jumbo-Visma. Present during the coup of the Dutch formationthe Slovenian quickly gave up the idea of following the Belgian in his mad dash to victory. Adam Yates (Ineos) and Jonas Vingegaard have tried them, in vain.
Placed further in the peloton, Tadej Pogacar, double winner of the Tour and current white jersey, was dithyrambic towards Wout van Aert. “He was clearly the strongest today, he blew everyone away, he’s a very deserving winner. It was going very fast at the end and Van Aert was on fire. If there was a team capable of attacking in this way, it was the Jumbo-Visma. They’ve done it before and they’re very strong. I was coming from behind when he attacked. And when I saw he dropped Vingegaard, I stopped worrying“, explained the 23-year-old Slovenian.
Pogacar is right, van Aert was the strongest. The following data proves it. About the app Stravawe learn that the belgian rocket swallowed thenear Cap Blanc-Nez (900m at 7.5%) at a speed of 32.3 km/h, i.e. 3 km/h more than the double title holder. Simply huge.
After the race, the UAE leader also held out his hand to the Belgian to congratulate him. The two runners then exchanged friendly words. “I surprised you?“, launched the yellow jersey to Pogacar. “A little. You also let go of your own teammates so…“, replied the Slovenian. Good player this Pogi!