"I was beaten by one of the superstars of cycling" - Wout van Aert has no regrets after losing GP de Montréal to Pogacar

Wout van Aert has on several occasions lost sprints in reduced groups, and yesterday at the GP de Montréal he found the same obstacle, however he has no regrets after matching the strongest climbers in the Canadian race.

"The team rode very well to support me, but I was beaten by one of the superstars of cycling. There's no shame in finishing second here. It would have been nice to win, but I came up a bit short. I don't regret anything. It was a beautiful weekend and super nice to experience Canada. I am going to Australia with fond memories," the Belgian said in a post-race interview. He came as a main favourite to Montréal having shown great climbing form over the year, and he matched those expectations as he matched the attacks of Tadej Pogacar and Adam Yates in the final main ascent.

In a position he's been in many times, van Aert found himself as the strongest sprinter in the group, and the man to beat at the finish. There was good cooperation however, and he counter-attacked Yates and David Gaudu, into the final sprint. Into the final corner he went wide and gained a better position in the middle of the group, and was on the wheel of Tadej Pogacar when he started his sprint.

Although the circumstances were ideal, the uphill sprint, power of Pogacar and multiple maximum efforts throughout the race saw him unable to outsprint the UAE Team Emirates rider. Nevertheless he showed the climbing form necessary to battle for gold in Australia. “I need the next few weeks to recover and settle in Australia. I hope to do some good training and hopefully that will pay off in the road race," he added.

He's proven to have the form for Wollongong. There, he will lead a strong Belgian team alongside Remco Evenepoel who has just conquered the Vuelta a Espana. “We have a super strong team at the World Cup. Our selection is well balanced. Together with Remco Evenepoel I am the leader. We are different types and that fits well together. We can make it a great race," he concluded.