"I wondered whether continuing the Giro was a good idea" - Wout van Aert admits doubts during Giro d'Italia's opening weekend
Cycling
Wout van Aert has taken a glorious win to close off the first week of the Giro d'Italia, the perfect finale to a months-long drought of victories. The Team Visma | Lease a Bike may not have been here already have suffering through the first days of the race and even questioning if he should have stayed or not.
"Mentally, I feel very different. A week ago, I wondered whether continuing the Giro was a good idea. We certainly talked about that," van Aert admitted in a press conference, as reported by Cyclingnews. "After the first rest day, I got the feeling and signals that I could make it. But stage 4 was really disappointing. I was tired and had bad legs, while it was an easy stage".
On stage 5, which on paper would be a day where he could win if he had good form, his legs started to feel better. "It had to turn around on the stage to Matera. That also happened: stage five was 'normal' suffering. It didn't 'all' hurt anymore. It was the first time that I reached the finish with a good feeling."
Read also
From there on it's been a steady growth, but without results until this Sunday's chaotic stage into Siena. Not only did the Belgian thrive with positioning but also climbing on a day where form was key above all. He took the stage win ahead of an equally impressive Isaac del Toro who let his GC rivals - literally - in the dust.
"Growing in a Grand Tour is a nice saying, but it is difficult to put your finger on whether that is really true or whether you break down less quickly than others. I think I am getting better, but I do not feel so good that I suddenly have my best legs again," he admits however. "Tomorrow is already the next opportunity to get a nice result, try to go for the stage win as well, maybe".
The time-trial is a discipline where van Aert usually does well, but after the disappointing ITT in the first week it's hard to gauge where he will be able to finish this time around. "We'll see how I'm recovered, even though everybody has a rest day today, there's no need to explain yesterday that I went really deep to get this win. In a grand tour, TT in the second part is usually about freshness and a bit less on the TT qualities."
A clear favourite emerges in front of his eyes: "In Albania, the time trial didn't go as I wanted, but I think I know why. Tuesday is really one for specialists, very straightforward. Only the start in Lucca is technical. I'm not starting with doubts, but Tarling is the favourite, because this course suits him even better. It will be difficult to beat him."
"It's always nice to win just before, because it gives u a bit more time to sink in and enjoy. That's definitely what we did. I'll keep my feet on the ground, but I can look forward to the rest of the Giro with a very good 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.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
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)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling for
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- People see what they want to. I am actually the opposite of your accusation, probably more of a rebel than most of you who don’t get the big picture. The difference is, I don’t go moaning publicly about the consequences of my transgressions, I understand the need for rules and I take my OWN responsibility when deciding to ignore or break them or doing so involuntarily. I will also not hesitate to state my case or argue vehemently when relevant, sometimes it works, sometimes it makes things worse but that’s the price to pay for principles and having character.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment