"I had the victory in my own hands and I threw my bike too early" - Wout van Aert frustrated after narrow sprint defeat on stage 5 of 2024 Vuelta a Espana

For Wout van Aert it was second place on stage 5 of the 2024 Vuelta a Espana as the Team Visma | Lease a Bike superstar was narrowly edged out in a thrilling finale by Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL's Grand Tour debutant, Pavel Bittner.

In the fight for the stage win, most had expected it to be another showdown between the Points Classification leader Van Aert and his nearest rival, Kaden Groves. However, after Van Aert went early, the Green Jersey was just about beaten by Bittner after an agonising wait whilst the race jury checked the photo finish, with Kaden Groves a little further back having been boxed in.

"I believe I had the victory in my own hands and I threw my bike too early," reflected a frustrated Van Aert in his post-stage interview afterwards. The Belgian also thinks he knows the root cause of his early throw too. "I was a bit confused with the shadows, I thought the line was there and when I see how close it was on the photo finish, it might have made a difference."

Despite the ultimate feeling of disappointment, Van Aert did at least ensure another day in the Green Jersey, extending his advantage over Groves from 6 points at the start of the day to 13 now.