“It’s not too often that I can win when my family visits me" - Wout van Aert makes it a Vuelta a Espana hat-trick on stage 10

Wout van Aert has been back somewhere close to his very best at the 2024 Vuelta a Espana. After two sprint wins, the Team Visma | Lease a Bike superstar made it a hat-trick of sprint wins on stage 10 from the breakaway.

“It’s not too often that I can win when my family visits me on a race so it makes it extra special and really nice," a delighted Van Aert reflects in his post-stage interview afterwards. "It was really my aim to be in the breakaway but I had a hard time on the first climb. I almost gave up but I gave it one more try just before the top."

Even after the breakaway finally formed though, the peloton kept things on a tight leash initially, as a number of riders plotted potential counter attacks. Eventually however, the elastic was snapped and Van Aert and company managed to build up a considerable advantage. Due to the intense racing of the day, when Van Aert attacked from the break with 30km to go, only Quentin Pacher had the legs to react.

"We had to fight for 50 kilometres with a little bit of a gap. To be honest, I think it worked in my favour because in the finale, the climbers in my group didn’t have fresh legs and that’s how I won," Van Aert assesses honestly. "[Saying I can win any stage] is a bit exaggerated, I would say, but it’s nice to be in a race like this with a versatile profile. And when I end up in a situation like this, I always have a chance. It’s a very cool victory."

As an added bonus, Van Aert further strengthen his lead in the points classification over Kaden Groves, and went level with Adam Yates at the top of the King of the Mountains classification too. "I took KOM points because it was a big fight at the front but my eyes are definitely on the green jersey and not at all on the mountain jersey,” he insists however.