"I just had nothing left in the sprint. Remco Evenepoel really broke me" - Wout van Aert makes no excuse as Brabantse Pijl close call ensure wait for win goes on

Wout van Aert's wait for a win in 2025 goes on. The Belgian came up just short at Brabantse Pijl 2025, losing out to compatriot Remco Evenepoel on the his return to racing in a thrilling two-up sprint for the line on Friday afternoon.

Although the disappointment was obvious after yet another close call, Van Aert was not looking to make excuses afterwards, instead opting to praise his fellow Belgian, who was making his first appearance in the peloton of the season. “Of course, I would’ve preferred to win - especially in this situation,” Van Aert said honestly in his post-race interview after crossing the line. “But I just had nothing left in the sprint. Remco really broke me in that final hour; even just staying on his wheel was a struggle. He deserved the win. That’s why I’m not too disappointed - he was simply the stronger rider today.”

Is there a real cause for concern when it comes to Van Aert's sprint though? This is far from the first time this season that the Team Visma | Lease a Bike star, who don't forget has won numerous Grand Tour sprints, has been beaten by riders you'd always expect him to finish faster than. “I wish I had an answer to why my sprint hasn’t been coming together in races," admits Van Aert in conclusion. "The only explanation I have for today is that I suffered a lot and was already over my limit before the sprint even started.”

The positive for Van Aert and Visma however, is that surely, if he keeps knocking on the door of a win in this manner, it can't be to long before he finally gets it right in the finale and with the Amstel Gold Race and the Giro d'Italia coming up for the 30-year-old, there is still hope of big wins this year.