"It was just too fast for me" - Wout van Aert unable to keep the pace at Gran Piemonte in final road race of the year

The final warm-up race ahead of the last monument of the year at Il Lombardia, Wout van Aert was disappointingly unable to challenge for the victory. Speaking afterwards, he explained what went wrong.

“We tried to control it, but the start was super fast,” says Van Aert about the opening phase of the race in conversation with Cycling Pro Net. “Just about everyone wanted to be on the flight. It was difficult for us to get a good group to ride. Ultimately, a large, strong leading group also broke away. I felt like we were in a bit of trouble all day. We had to ride a high pace on the first climbs. When we got to the long, steep climb, it was just too fast for me.”

Andrea Bagioli of Soudal - Quick-Step was the eventual winner of the race, taking victory from a four-man sprint at the line alongside Marc Hirschi, Alex Aranburu and Guillaume Martin.

With Gran Piemonte marking van Aert's final road race of the year, attention now turns to the Gravel World Championships. “That's a new game, a completely different game. It is a competition that I am really looking forward to. But today I would also have liked to achieve a result. The team believed in me and went for it, but it just didn't work out.”