"I can't explain how deep I had to go" - Wout van Aert plays a pivotal role for another Visma Grand Tour win
Cycling
Wout van Aert was a rider that for months leading up to the Giro (and until stage 9) was heavily criticized, pushed down and questioned constantly. The Belgian rider leaves the race with an epic comeback victory in Siena, a perfect leadout for Olav Kooij and now the role of a perfect teammate for Simon Yates in the day that Team Visma | Lease a Bike has won the Giro d'Italia.
In words to Eurosport following the stage, the Belgian was astonished with what the team had achieved. "It's crazy. We certainly hadn't thought of this this morning. It was such a brave effort from Simon to go all-in from that point. I love it when riders don't ride for a place of honor. I take my hat off to him".
Van Aert was in the day's breakaway, and with neither UAE Team Emirates - XRG or EF Education-EasyPost sending men to the front of the race, it gave Visma the possibility of racing with satelite riders. The Belgian, whose form has been on the rise all race long, would be the perfect rouleur for after the Colle delle Finestre - regardless of Yates being on the attack of defense.
"Once I was in the leading group and we had such a big lead, I knew I had a small chance of surviving the Finestre. I was valuable after that, but it is an effort of the entire team". Van Aert then put in a very strong climb up the Finestre, a difficult feat for a rider of almost 80Kg.
"The Finestre was a climb that we had not yet had in this Giro: steep for an hour, where it would depend much more on a long effort. And that was our plan anyway, to make it a long effort". Away from all the explosive action behind, he rode the ascent by himself throughout the remainders of the breakaway, and with Yates gapping his two rivals in the overall classification, Visma's plan came along to absolute perfection.
"I can't explain how deep I had to go. Halfway up the climb, I started to believe I could make it. From that moment on, my focus was only on the top, which was the hardest part of the day". His work for Yates, to the limit, not only would extend the gap to Yates' chasers, but provided a huge psychological blow to the Del Toro/Carapaz group that would have to hit the wind on flat terrain.
This additionally led to Del Toro having little hope of defending the pink jersey, which combined with Carapaz' reluctance to work following the climb to Finestre, led to a standstill that favoured the Dutch team.
Read also
And here could be the key to this race! @WoutvanAert is here for Simon Yates as we storm towards Sestrière! #GirodItalia pic.twitter.com/4EZycWsLKU
— Giro d'Italia (@giroditalia) May 31, 2025
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
claps 35visitors 31
Top comment
mhfrvz31-05-20258
Awesome, Wout! Chapeau!
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- Mmmm would he be making these comments when he was on the richest team when riding. I think not i suspect. If we want money put into the sport we need sponsors who are prepared to put the money in. No disrespect but his team are 2nd or 3rd div in football terms with riders over the hill or 2nd string riders. If i was a sponsor i would be looking at what publicity am i getting back and Tudor really are just making up the numbers really.paultryan200214-11-2026
- 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
Loading
2 Comments