"I am the best of normal people" jokes Wout van Aert after finishing third behind Pogacar and Vingegaard on stage 16 time-trial

When Wout van Aert finished his time-trial, taking the lead of the standings at the time by 15 seconds, the Belgian must have held hopes of finally taking his first stage win at this year's Tour de France. Sadly for him, two superhumans were to follow.

"I am the best of normal people," laughed the 28-year-old Belgian in a post-stage interview with Eurosport immediately following the conclusion of the day's racing. "The other two are not normal people," he says of Pogacar and his Jumbo-Visma teammate, Vingegaard.

Vingegaard was the dominant winner, destroying Pogacar by over a minute and a half courtesy of a simply sensational ride. Even van Aert himself admits that his team leader's performance shocked him, admitting the he never expected the gap between the two race favourites to be quite so big.

"No definitely not. Not even after the past few days. But I know that Jonas is a good time trialist, he has made huge strides," he says. “The difference between these two is so big with the rest. But it's not over yet. It's definitely a good day for us. We have to keep fighting until Paris, because the Vosges are still coming. Now recover well and look forward to tomorrow."