Lars van der Haar reveals how he helped defeat Wout van Aert at World Cup Benidorm: "I did not expect to ride on the podium on such a fast circuit"

Lars van der Haar claimed a hard-fought podium finish at the World Cup Benidorm, securing third place by beating Wout van Aert in the final stretch. The result marked a return to form for the Baloise Trek Lions rider, who had not reached a podium since November. The race was won by his teammate Thibau Nys.

After the race, Van der Haar admitted that he hadn’t anticipated such a strong performance. “No, not at all. I have never done so well here. I did not expect to ride on the podium on such a fast circuit,” he told Wielerflits.

Reflecting on his performance, Van der Haar noted the improvement he’d felt following the Christmas period. “But I felt really good during the Christmas period. It just never really came out then. I did come out of the Christmas period better than last year, so maybe that made the difference,” he said.

In the race’s final laps, Van der Haar played a pivotal supporting role for his teammate Thibau Nys, who went on to win. “Because I knew I couldn’t beat Eli in the final lap, because of the barriers. We rode together at the front, but I knew I shouldn’t pull through with him. So I focused on Thibau in the final laps. That worked out well. I was very happy that I was able to pull off a podium myself,” he explained.

Van der Haar also shared his thoughts on Van Aert’s performance in the final stages. “Yes, but he did do something. He just had to come a little too late. He couldn’t come earlier, which allowed us to hold him back a little. Then he had to cycle the entire cycle path. That way we were able to beat him again towards the finish,” he said.