"It's fun to do it this way" - Wout van Aert enjoys leadout debut with Olav Kooij with one-two at Tour of Britain
Cycling
As did Mathieu van der Poel this year, Wout van Aert experimented with being a leadout. At the Tour of Britain he led out Olav Kooij to victory on the opening day as Jumbo-Visma easily swept the win.
“This is the perfect start, we finished it very nicely. As a team we did everything well today. It is very nice to be part of this”, Van Aert in a statement issued by the team. “I'm not going to call the lead-out easy, but the work of the team put us in an ideal position. The plan was to get through the last corner first and second and we totally succeeded.”
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Jumbo-Visma seemed to be in perfect control. Van Aert did the leadout for Kooij, who has re-signed for the team and has now been given proof of the team's trust in him. He took the win comfortably, with van Aert still hanging on to second place in front of Sam Bennett. With a whole six consecutive flat days which should end in a bunch sprint, the Dutch team have plenty opportunities to succeed.
“It's fun to do it this way. However, I need to do it more to see if I will continue to enjoy it," van Aert said of his successful leadout. "I haven't ridden Olav very much yet, but everyone can see that he is very talented. I am happy that we are here with a strong team. Hopefully we can still win stages.”
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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.
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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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🇬🇧 #TourOfBritain Olav is ready. 👊
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