Geraint Thomas shares sympathy with Wout van Aert: "It's sh*t when you've got that TV camera in your face and you're struggling"
Cycling
Wout van Aert's Giro d'Italia debut hasn't exactly gone to plan so far. The 30-year-old Belgian leader of the Team Visma | Lease a Bike team has long been one of the biggest names in the peloton, but after a pre-Giro illness, Van Aert is yet to truly show his best form at the Italian Grand Tour.
Although Van Aert came within a whisker of the stage win on the opening day, narrowly losing out to Mads Pedersen, the Belgian's level has since gone downhill dramatically. A disappointing time trial by his own high standards followed on stage 2, then the Visma star was dropped notably early on stage 3, not even mixing it up in the sprint for the win. Unable to really make a mark in support of teammate Olav Kooij on stage 4, Van Aert has been garnering a lot of attention this Giro, but not all for the right reasons.
Geraint Thomas, a podium finisher at the last two editions of the Giro d'Italia, has been watching the drama unfold from home this time around and the Welshman has sympathy for the struggles Van Aert is going through.
"It's a shame to see Wout get dropped. He's just not 100% is he?" Thomas asks rhetorically on the latest episode of his Watts Occurring podcast. "It's just sad to see, because it's horrible when you're in that position - such a big rider and everyone is watching you and you're just suffering."
A former Tour de France winner, Thomas knows all about the pressures of expectation when things aren't quite going right in the big races. "I'm not saying I'm as big a rider as him or Remco Evenepoel and that, but even when I've been in that situation it is shit," explains the INEOS Grenadiers leader. "You're going up a climb, you're getting spat out and you've got that TV camera in your face and everyone's watching you and you're just suffering. You just want to be anywhere else. But, Wout is a fighter isn't he! Getting that second place already, so hopefully he gets better."
Can Wout bounce back? 🚴🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/Ps42Tf4djJ
— Watts Occurring (@Watts_Occurring) May 13, 2025
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.
claps 92visitors 7
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- I see (elsewhere) that Alaphilippe had more to say than what got relayed in this stub. Me: he was very good early but his latter third trajectory was the pits. His old boss did what he could (huffed and puffed) but Julian couldn't get his greatness back. Sometimes I wonder if crashes that didn't look like much changed the course of the rider.flyer14-11-2026
- I wouldn't classify it as a gift because the nasty consequences of taking it from Sepp would have been great and would persist and he knew it.flyer14-11-2026
- Ok. Tratnik's good and Red Bull's better so Tratnik may get what he wants.flyer14-11-2026
- Ok. So just saying he wasn't enjoying racing anymore is some kind of explanation? Me saying I don't enjoy his explanation is more explaining than he did.flyer14-11-2026
- Buitrago, was he their best rider in 2026? He's the chief loss for them and Martinez and Tiberi (especially) have to step up or they will be overtaken by Bahrain's younger riders like Omrzel. I'm still somewhat high on Martinez but Tiberi, after showing signs of promise, has fizzled. Bahrain still has a good team but they need to improve and exceed expectations. I'd be happy if Mohoric could manage to return to his better form for maybe one last year at least.flyer14-11-2026
- Hmmm, "... I just gained 30 seconds purely off the bike. Because it's really a big, big improvement compared to the previous bike". Is that marketing for Specialized or serious valid hype, or something in between? Very likely the former.flyer14-11-2026
- Nothing revelatory or controversial. Why do we have to report on Bruyneel's or Armstrong's thinking. It's a shame and enough that the Move's on TV and that people watch it .flyer14-11-2026
- Makes sense that training from home is a big asset or advantage but it's still remarkable that he can put in three quality majors and not pay some heavy price for the exertion. I wish he would have won that tour stage that his crash while leading allowed Carapaz the win. He's a darn good rider and teammate.flyer14-11-2026
- Sounds like we all agree with the over under exaggeration: "The German’s signing does not guarantee that Evenepoel will win the Tour in 2027. "flyer14-11-2026
- Seixas appears to be that good but if he isn't (an absolute rival to Pogacar) he would have plenty of company in rising stars that did not go on to fully meet the expectations of many. That Pogacar wasn't the greatest (as great) sooner can't be transposed onto another's development. It may be not that simple.flyer14-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment