"I wanted to lead out Christophe" - Wout Van Aert won again in Denmark, but that was never the plan
CyclingFriday, 31 July 2026 at 19:57
The Tour of Denmark has thus far been fully dominated by Team Visma | Lease a Bike, who have won all three stages with Wout Van Aert. The Belgian rider spoke about having bad legs on the queen stage around the Vejle circuit and how winning wasn't his plan.
Van Aert avoids near-disaster crash
The Dutch team controlled the stage where they began with the lead, but they were also close to disaster. Ashlin Barry crashed on the wet roads, and Van Aert was forced to move off road. He avoided the fall, but Visma was thrown into chaos due to the crash and the mechanicals that followed.
“I did not want to take any risks trying to pass him, so I jumped onto the kerb. It did not go perfectly and I punctured immediately," Van Aert explained in words to Sporza.
However the team was able to reorganize into the final circuit, and had their two leaders close to the front when necessary.
“It might sound strange after winning, but I did not feel particularly good. My legs were hurting a lot, so we had agreed that Christophe could race for the victory," he admitted.
The moment Wout Van Aert and several teammates jumped over a curb to avoid a fallen teammate
Van Aert tried helping Laporte take the win
In the final 20 kilometers Laporte thinned down the group, and the two riders then took turns attacking the group. They were not able to create the winning difference, but spent almost the entirety of their time in the group leading it.
“Part of it was bluff. I wanted the others to feel that attacking was pointless. Christophe and I had the situation under control, and tactically we played it well.”
Van Aert himself spent kilometers leading the group, despite leading the race with a gap that didn't allow him to relax with the uphill finish. And on the climb itself, he hit the front early on purposefully, not waiting for his rivals to take the front.
The plan was to provide a leadout for Laporte, who had been unable to go off the front solo. “I wanted to lead out Christophe, but near the top I saw that Kubis was the only rider still close. At that point, I had to go for it myself.”
Van Aert ended up dropping his competition, and accidentally rode himself to a third stage win, something that did mean a lot to him. “Three wins in a row. I have never done that before. It is a special feeling," he concluded.
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.
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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)...
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- ouch! Let's hope he recovers in time for a successful Vuelta, but I'm going to assume that he's not going to be at the level he wishes or needs to compete with, say, Pogačar (by now I assume he's going).RidesHills31-07-2026
- go wout!Crashjames31-07-2026
- Alec Segaert is present, so on stage 1 there is always a chance of a disruption of the sprint
Rafionain-Glas31-07-2026 - I'm a fan and hurts me to have to say - this is just plain stupid of both him and the team! “We may have misunderstood the Tour a bit this year,” Vingegaard said following his withdrawal. “We made me better on the longer climbs. But it could well be that we should have realised I needed to be a bit more explosive and look more closely at the route.''Cyclingsbestfan31-07-2026
- LOL passing men is no significant achievement for elite female cyclists unless they are actually prosRafionain-Glas31-07-2026
- Visma's Vuelta gifting was certainly complicated, with JV having almost wiped out Kuss's lead before a public outcry led to Visma's decision to hold back. But Jonas seemed fine with letting almost victory go.Hills3331-07-2026
- I can read, and am responding to another comment or, dumbdevilCrashjames31-07-2026
- imo the pogs gifting is way obvious... Visma riders obeyed team orders even though Kuss deserved his victory with Roglic having a sook.
Davide31-07-2026 - yup.OCexile31-07-2026
- I'm one of those who really hopes Pog is clean, as he has real (and entertaining) skills like attacking at just the right moment to beat Carapaz and Martinez on Alpe d'Huez, taking just the right line to pull away on the descent on Stage 6, crashing in such a way that he can carry on and win, or avoiding crashing over a bidon. For me, the real moment of temptation to boost performance in some way would surely be when a rider is feeling desperate (whether to win again or simply not crack); and we might not be aware of such an inner struggle.Hills3331-07-2026
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