"It's a shame for Wout and for the team that we don't win the stage" - Jumbo-Visma's work through the lens of Tiesj Benoot

Tiesj Benoot survived yesterday's climbs at the Tour de France to play a key support role for the team's ambitions, but in the end the work did not pay off. He tells how the stage finale went through his point of view, having worked for Wout van Aert.

As UAE Team Emirates exploded the race on the Alto de Jaizkibel, a group of 24 riders emerged after the climb united into the flat section. Several attacks emerged then, Jumbo-Visma voluntarily hit the front of the group as Wout van Aert was the strongest sprinter in the group. Benoot and Wilco Kelderman resisted the high pace and then were tasked with chasing down as many attacks as possible.

“Then it makes sense if we are looked at, with Wout also being the fastest of that group. It is not easy to control such a group of top riders with only Wilco [Kelderman] and me. Just not, a shame," Benoot shared in an interview with NOS. “I rode in the lead towards that last nod at three kilometers. Then Pidcock went from the back and I was dropped. They didn't make a jump-off, so I could still come back between the cars at eight hundred, nine hundred meters. Then I made one last effort for Wout. The moment I put myself aside for Wout, I saw that someone was still riding in front. That really sucked.”

The several attacks, in search of a stage win, took enough out of the duo that when Victor Lafay attacked in the final kilometer there wasn't firepower to chase him down. The team did not force Jonas Vingegaard to work on the run-up to the sprint. “It sucks, but of course we can also be happy with the opening weekend. Jonas had a puncture today, but we put that right very nicely for the Jaizkibel. I think he has shown that he is really strong."

"It's a shame for Wout and for the team that we don't win the stage, but there are still plenty of stages to suit him. I think this was a good confirmation for the team. If you are with four men on twenty riders, then you have a good team, I think.”