"I never had the feeling that I was on track for the fastest time" - Wout Van Aert satisfied with top-5 in prologue

Wout van Aert already completed an extensive racing schedule this year. After a spring campaign marked by 2nd and 4th places, the Belgian was able to finally break his curse at the Giro d'Italia where he also assisted Simon Yates' coup to overthrow the general classifcation on final day. And a month later, the Visma | Lease a Bike rider was back in action at the biggest stage; Tour de France. Once again, ready to play a key role that was rewarded with a sweet Champs-Élysées victory. But the season's far from over for the 30-year-old who is back in action at the Deutschland Tour.

In the opening prologue, Van Aert clocked in a 5th best time on the day, three seconds slower than winner Soren Waerenskjold (Uno-X Mobility). The four upcoming stages will be mostly an opportunity for fast men, but the undulated profile of stages 2 and 3 could offer an opportunity to strike from a far - something Van Aert knows how to do very well.

"It’s a result I can live with," Van Aert said of his 3-kilometer effort afterwards on team website. "It was short but tough. The course was extremely fast, where details made all the difference. I think I rode a solid prologue, but I never had the feeling along the way that I was on track for the fastest time."

"The next few days will be very interesting. There are some great opportunities ahead. Not only for myself, but certainly also for Matthew. He’s riding very strongly this year and I’m looking forward to chasing results together with him," Van Aert concluded. His team mate and co-leader Matthew Brennan wasn't as happy with his performance that saw him lose 8 seconds on Waerenskjold. But with bonification seconds up for grabs in coming days, the race is far from over.