“I was trapped between Arnaud Démare and the fences” - Wout van Aert has another near miss on stage 12 of 2024 Tour de France
CyclingThursday, 11 July 2024 at 17:33
Wout van Aert continues to be made to wait for any personal success at the 2024 Tour de France. On stage 12, the Belgian sprinted strongly again, but was forced to settle for second behind Biniam Girmay.
"I'm disappointed. I was trapped between Arnaud Démare and the fences,” reflected the Team Visma | Lease a Bike sprinter in his post-stage interview afterwards. It's not the first time the Belgian has been forced out in this Tour de France either. On stage 6, van Aert was blocked in the sprint by Jasper Philipsen, with the Belgian subsequently relegated from 2nd on the day.
“I should look back and see what happened. But anyway, I had to relaunch myself and still came close to winning. So yeah, if I hadn’t had to keep my legs still, I would have had a good chance,” van Aert continues, opting to remain optimistic despite yet another close call at this Grand Tour. It’s important to remember the good things from today. Of course I’m happy that I felt good again. I hope it stays that way and that I can forget yesterday as soon as possible.”
The 'yesterday' van Aert is referring to is stage 11 where despite his Team Visma | Lease a Bike leader, Jonas Vingegaard taking an incredible stage win, van Aert himself suffered another blow with a late crash that could have been much worse if not for his bike handling skills.
2024 Tour de France stage 12 results:
| 1 | GIRMAY Biniam Intermarché-Wanty | 04:17:15 |
| 2 | VAN AERT Wout Team Visma | Lease a Bike | + 00 |
| 3 | DÉMARE Arnaud ARKEA-B&B HOTELS | + 00 |
| 4 | ACKERMANN Pascal Israel-Premier Tech | + 00 |
| 5 | CAVENDISH Mark Astana Qazaqstan Team | + 00 |
| 6 | PHILIPSEN Jasper Alpecin-Deceuninck | + 00 |
| 7 | DE LIE Arnaud Lotto Dstny | + 00 |
| 8 | KRISTOFF Alexander Uno-X Mobility | + 00 |
| 9 | BAUHAUS Phil Bahrain Victorious | + 00 |
| 10 | COQUARD Bryan Cofidis | + 00 |
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- it will be interesting to see his results when he steps into the bigger races. 19 wins, but so many in the fall in mid level races. still the mid races need to be won to step up to the biggies.mij09-01-2026
- Looks like his poor health just stomped on the rear mech of his cycling career.Onepiece09-01-2026
- she is so good. even her results from 2025, which were “bad”, would be a career year for most riders. and consider at MSR, for example, her teammate won - perhaps Lotte could have won it. wishing her the best for 2026!mij09-01-2026
- bummer - he was fun to watch and was young. had a lot left in him.mij09-01-2026
- What a fairytale day! Everything fell into place.mhfrvz09-01-2026
- Not sure you can say that someone as talented and successful as him has had bad luck, but between coming along right after the two titans and now this, his is a career cut short. Perhaps he can transition to a different role in the sport, but in any case I wish him well.MidnightRider08-01-2026
- I doubt it. This blows a hole in their ranks.mobk08-01-2026
- For a while there, Eli was the best of the rest in cyclocross behind Mathieu and Wout. It must be tough to be forced to retire early due to medical issues, but good health trumps everything else. I wish him the best in his future endeavors.
santiagobenites08-01-2026 - however you frame it, it seems that they asked more from Ayuso (who obviously did not deliver the needed support) than they are asking from del Torro ... who - according to this quote - just needs to show up and can then ride however he likes.Ketterechts08-01-2026
- I agree that Ayuso was wrong in doing what he did at the tour, but we don't know everything behind the feud unless they all say honestly what went wrong. If he us such a rat and traitor, which it's a bit harsh, then what is to be said about Soler when he was with Movistar and didn't want to ride for Mas? I was disappointed, yes, but realize riders also have goals, and right now, UAE is all about their golden boy.Colnago-fan08-01-2026
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🇫🇷 #TDF2024 That was a close one. 🥈
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