Wout van Aert was on an incredibly strong day at the Tour de France today but couldn't make it work in the end. The Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider participated in many attacks during the day, assisted Jonas Vingegaard in his raid against Tadej Pogacar, and then still went on to be in the day's breakaway and in the battle for the stage win.
But the feelings after the finish were not the best for the Belgian. "Yes, I'm very disappointed because I had the legs to win," van Aert admitted to VTM. "Because I'm here to win stages, to achieve results. Improving is only fun in training."
Van Aert early on spent a lot of energy working towards the team's objective, but after the peloton stopped in the final 60 kilometers, van Aert was part of a group of five alongside Mathieu van der Poel. But this group was in hot pursuit of a different quintet, from which first and second on the day - Jonas Abrahamsen and Mauro Schmid - came from.
Van Aert still showed no signs of weakness in the final kilometers and put on a very strong ride to do the final climbs at a very high level. On the last one however he couldn't keep up with Mathieu van der Poel, but the victory had already escaped both of them prior.
"I had already wasted a lot of energy by getting caught in the breakaway. I lacked that in the final. Mathieu and I were always watching each other closely," he explains.
"I suspected he was going to try something on the final climb. And that proved to be the case: he put everything he had into that last climb. But in the end, he too came up short. In retrospect, we should have tried to close the gap earlier".
In the final kilometers having a committed chase in a group that wasn't understanding itself fully was not an option. "It's always a matter of two minds with him in the group. You want to make it across, but also have something left for the final".
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.
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- great analysis thanks! appreciate you posting this. I didn't realize CX had a different standard for deviation. this is even more egregious it seems.mij10-11-2026
- As he isn't currently with Red Bull, I guess if he want to race for one more year he needs to find a team. He's 37 so this will be his last year I would guess, unless he wants to race for almost nothing like Froome did.awp10-11-2026
- I think some are making much ado about nothing. Even though Jonas is getting older, before his crash in the Tour, he looked like a solid 2nd all the way home. No one can really climb with Tadej until this year, Eric Mas showed himself which I think was a one off year for him and Paul Seixas has been able to be pretty close to him. Whatever stage race Jonas enters as long as Tadej is not there he is a favorite to win.awp10-11-2026
- Giro or not Giro, he won't win the Tour!MajorPayne10-11-2026
- Very true.awp10-11-2026
- Ciccone had a very strong end of season. Consistently attacking and livening up races. Hope he makes that last leap in progress and starts notching some significant wins. Great rider to watch.Occam10-11-2026
- Me too!!!!!Occam10-11-2026
- they can sign any 100 of top riders today but Pogi will win over Remco any time at the TDF unless something goes wrongabstractengineer10-11-2026
- the time for a GC rider to retire is when they cannot win stages, or have a significant level drop like from winner/podium into top 5/10 consistently. Roglic is still competitive and Froome raced even though he became pack fodder.abstractengineer10-11-2026
- He should be in a different team. It was detrimental. For them it does not matter if he does not develop. He should have gone to a team where they need him to succeed.abstractengineer10-11-2026
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