"Everyone was quite down. It is very difficult for the team" - Visma's Vuelta morale at an all time low after Wout van Aert's crash according to Grischa Niermann

Wout van Aert has been one of the stars of the 2024 Vuelta a Espana, winning three stages and looking on course to take home both the Green Jersey and the Polka-dot Jersey. Sadly however, on stage 16, the Belgian crashed out on a slippery descent, ending his race.

"He spent the night in hospital. We hope that he can return to Belgium during the day," updates Team Visma | Lease a Bike's Grischa Niermann on Wednesday morning in conversation with Sporza, ahead of the start of stage 17, where the team have been left a little rudderless.

After the abandon of Van Aert, the morale within Team Visma | Lease a Bike's Vuelta a Espana squad is now at an all time low. "Everyone was quite down. It is very difficult for the team, but of course especially for Wout himself," Niermann explains. "Nobody can take those three stage wins away from him, but it was a big goal to bring both the points jersey and the mountain jersey to Madrid. That's gone now. For the guys who are still here, it's now a matter of resetting and seeing what's still in it."

The question now, is where do Team Visma | Lease a Bike go from here over the remaining stages? "The fact that he is no longer with us means a lot. In this Vuelta, a lot revolved around Wout. He was really in great shape," Niermann notes. "Now we continue with these boys, who will certainly fight. But at the moment, disappointment still prevails. Nevertheless, we still want to get everything out of it that is still possible."

"Today we wanted to go for a sprint with Wout, that is no longer possible," he concludes. "But with Sepp Kuss we still have a chance of the top 10 and the other guys are also fine. We really want to try to go for another stage, but without Wout that will be very difficult."