“I was trapped between Arnaud Démare and the fences” - Wout van Aert has another near miss on stage 12 of 2024 Tour de France
Cycling
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 |
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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🇫🇷 #TDF2024 That was a close one. 🥈
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