“Defensive strategy, even on the rest day” - Wout van Aert responds to criticism of Visma's Tour de France tactics via Strava

A lot of heat has been laid at the door of Team Visma | Lease a Bike following the thrilling gravel stage 9 of the 2024 Tour de France. According to some, the team were defensive and boring on the day, and that criticism has filtered back to the riders it would seem.

Former commentator Maarten Ducrot wrote on his X (Twitter) account; "If it looks like a wheel sucker, it rides like one and it acts like a wheel sucker, then it is a wheel sucker. Signed, Jonas Vingegaard," with Remco Evenepoel even going so far as to claim that Vingegaard lacked the balls to ride with himself and Tadej Pogacar after the trio found themselves ahead of the GC group.

One of those that had a key role in keeping Jonas Vingegaard safe on the white roads around Troyes on Sunday, was Wout van Aert. Posting a training ride to his official Strava account on the first rest day of the 2024 Tour de France, the Belgian responded to criticism of his and his Team Visma | Lease a Bike teammates' with a playful caption.

“Defensive strategy, even on the rest day,” van Aert captions a near 50km ride, completed over an hour an a half around the Team Visma | Lease a Bike rest day hotel. See it for yourself down below!