"I tried to do something at the limit" - Wout van Aert turns final stage of 2024 Volta ao Algarve into a thriller

Daniel Martinez took the stage win and Remco Evenepoel the GC but undoubtedly, the star of the show on the fifth and final stage of the Volta ao Algarve was Team Visma | Lease a Bike's Wout van Aert.

Starting the day 4th overall, van Aert went on the offensive early and attempted a long-range attack. “It looked good at one point, but I felt Ben Healy was slightly better,” van Aert laughs in his post-stage interview with Het Nieuwsblad. “So I had a problem in that area. I tried to do something at the limit, but that turned out not to be really possible.”

As van Aert mentioned, for a time it looked like his aggressive tactic was paying off with Remco Evenepoel's Soudal - Quick-Step burning through riders in the chase. Nevertheless, it wasn't to be. “We had hoped to have a little more chaos beforehand, so that a few more domestiques had already dropped out. There was still too much control behind me and that's a shame," he assesses. "It gave my attack less chance of success."

Ultimately, van Aert was made to pay, dropping down to 7th overall as Daniel Martinez took the stage and Evenepoel secured the overall triumph. “It's been a good week,” he concludes. “I also won a stage, that's nice. In addition, I was able to show myself in two difficult stages. The terrain was a bit too tough for me to win, but it was beautiful. Today was also a typical war day and that was always included as a training incentive. This also makes me better.”