“Better than I dreamed of” - Wout van Aert gifted stunning one-off green Cervelo for final Vuelta stage
Cycling
Wout van Aert will complete the 2026 Vuelta a Espana aboard a one-off green Cervelo after Team Visma | Lease a Bike surprised him with a bike designed to celebrate his unassailable lead in the points classification.
The custom machine was unveiled in front of Van Aert and his team-mates ahead of Sunday’s final stage in Granada. Its green and gold finish reflects the jersey the Belgian is set to secure after three weeks containing two individual victories and extensive work for others.
A Cervelo finished in green and gold
The Cervelo has been painted in a deep metallic emerald green across the frame, fork and rear triangle. Lighter green Cervelo lettering runs along the down tube, standing out against the darker base colour.
Reserve’s branding on the wheel rims has also been changed to green. Small gold emblems appear around the wheels and frame, while further gold detailing has been added near the seatpost.
Tan-wall tyres, a SRAM drivetrain and an oversized aero chainring complete the race build. Van Aert’s number 13 is still attached beneath the saddle ahead of the bike’s first competitive appearance.
Van Aert smiled as he walked around the Cervelo and examined the finished paintwork. “Looking good guys! Amazing!” he told the team members responsible for the surprise.
Once he had inspected the smaller details, the Belgian offered the verdict used to accompany the team’s reveal. “Better than I dreamed of. Thanks so much guys.”
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Two victories and 326 points
Van Aert will start stage 21 with 326 points, holding an unassailable 87-point lead over team-mate Matthew Brennan. Alessandro Romele is third with 171. The Belgian claimed his first victory of the race on stage 13 in Loja, ending a lengthy wait for another Grand Tour success. He struck again two days later in Cordoba and collected points consistently across terrain ranging from flat sprint stages to the Vuelta’s major climbs.
Van Aert has also spent much of the race working for Brennan. The young Briton won five stages during Team Visma | Lease a Bike’s dominant Vuelta, with Van Aert contributing to several of the lead-outs and tactical plans which delivered him into winning positions.
There was more team work on Saturday’s queen stage. Van Aert entered the early breakaway and collected maximum mountains points on both ascents of the Puerto de El Purche before taking the intermediate sprint in Guejar Sierra.
Wout van Aert in his green jersey
He later dropped back to Sepp Kuss alongside Jorgen Nordhagen and helped drive the American towards the Collado del Alguacil. Kuss eventually finished eighth on the stage, 2:19 ahead of race leader Enric Mas, and climbed six positions to fifth overall. Van Aert crossed the summit in 30th place, 16:36 behind stage winner Mikel Landa, after his work for Kuss was complete.
The final 112-kilometre stage starts and finishes in Granada, giving Van Aert one more opportunity to add to his two victories. Provided he reaches the finish, he will collect the green jersey after completing the stage on a Cervelo created specifically for the occasion.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- It doesnt take a genius to understand that Pogi is 1 level above and Pogi is younger that Jonas, so Jonas will not win under ordinary circumstances. Pogi has to crack hard for Jonas to win. It doesn't matter whether you defend Jonas or not , facts remain facts. Jonas himself says his numbers are better than 2022/2023, so Jonas is more or less optimized and we are just see the stochastic variation due to other factors. I think he will retire along with Pedersen in WC denmarkabstractengineer13-11-2026
- They only raced each other during the 2026 Tour, but here's a few metrics to look at. Stage 3 (Granollers to Les Angles): Pogačar won the stage, finishing 2 seconds ahead of Vingegaard (2nd). Del Toro finished 24 seconds behind Stage 6 (Pau to Gavarnie-Gedre / Col du Tourmalet): Pogačar won solo, Vingegaard finished 2nd (losing 2:38), and Del Toro finished 3rd (at +2:57, finishing 19 seconds behind Vingegaard). Here, Jonas Vingegaard outclimbed Isaac del Toro by 19 seconds on the mountain stageawp13-11-2026
- your clinging to the past. Jonas was dropped by del toro many times last year and jonas never managed a climbing numers del toro did in dauphine last year -entire year. Trend is also evident theres no discussion your living in the past, its beent he same with jonas for many years now and only developing, meanwhile del toro is rising and developing greatly. This is all obvious stuff and im not even a del toro fan. No point discussing numbers or this i suspect you dont watch much now but rather think its 2022 still cause this aint hard.miguel13-11-2026
- We can go through metrics if you like, Del Toro, who I do admire and support, is not on the same level as Jonas just yet. You will see that in early 2027 if they have any crossover races. I do hope they both race the Giro. You are correct though, Jonas is getting older and will not be able to hand on much longer. I see 2027 as a good year for him. Obviously behind Tadej though.awp13-11-2026
- What wins? Are you LA operating under a pseudonym?mij13-11-2026
- My point is this - Tadej, Remco, Seixas are all the outliers. Many riders don’t hit their peak until 28. It’s way too early to write him off. And the pogi slo guy that hates him - he’s also immature. Ayuso needs time.mij13-11-2026
- Then you need to use ur eyes or head if you have cause del toro already dropped jonas two times and beat him in tdf stages already this year.. Del toro climbed(dauphine) better numbers than jonas did all year too. So ur feelings and wishful thinking doesnt amtter del toro himself has already surpassed jonas infact just facts. Its also very evident for anyone objective that Jonas is declining alot, its just the truth and super obvious.miguel13-11-2026
- None of those victories stand, so there's that,wrsty13-11-2026
- No surprise there; it is British Sycling, yes, with an S
Rafionain-Glas12-11-2026 - I like Del Toro but he's not on the level of Jonas, by a large margin.awp12-11-2026
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