“It was far from a flawless sprint, but we expected that" - Wout van Aert blows out the cobwebs with leadout for Olav Kooij in Almeria
Cycling
In his first road outing of 2024, Wout van Aert put in an expert leadout to help fire his Team Visma | Lease a Bike teammate, Olav Kooij to victory at the Clasica de Almeria on Sunday afternoon.
Despite the win and the impressiveness of van Aert's leadout in the finale, the Belgian was far from totally pleased by the showing. “It was far from a flawless sprint, but we expected that," van Aert reflected honestly in his post-race interview.
Despite the fact it was 'far from flawless' and even the fact that a premature celebration from Kooij almost saw the victory snatched from him right at the line, victory nevertheless went the Dutch sprinting prodigy in Almeria.
"We controlled the entire race and finished it, so I'm happy," concluded van Aert's assessment of his return to road racing. "It was a good race to start with. In the final I was able to move up and sprint well for Olav.”
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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🇪🇸 #ClasicaAlmeria2024 Phew... 😅
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