In 2023 at the
Tour de France,
Wout van Aert did not win a stage and that was much due to the disappointment on stage 2 where Victor Lafay attacked in the final kilometer and Wout van Aert was left sprinting to second place. Many, including José de Cauwer, criticized the lack of work from Jonas Vingegaard on that day but this time around he does not think there was lack of cohesion with Team Visma | Lease a Bike.
"Somewhere it feels like a missed opportunity, because you win the sprint behind two men who would not have had to stay ahead under normal circumstances," De Cauwer said in words to Sporza. "You can then go back to Bilbao or San Sebastian last year: should this or that one have given an extra kick? Or with an extra push three kilometres before the top of the last climb, with a Jorgenson who starts a bit earlier. But you don't know that. And at that moment you think that those men won't stay ahead. They surprise everyone with their strength".