"Maybe I rode too enthusiastically, but at least I gave it my all" - Wout Van Aert unable to make difference in penultimate Tour of Britain stage

Wout van Aert raced very aggressively today in the seventh stage of Tour of Britain. The Belgian from Jumbo-Visma attacked several times in the final of the stage, but was unable to make enough selection. Ultimately, Norwegian Rasmus Tiller took the win. Yet Van Aert is not dissatisfied.

Van Aert launched an attack on Crawley Hill, the decisive climb of the day, and was joined by a number of riders, with whom he formed a leading group. Unfortunately for the 28-year-old rider, this group was brought back. "For a moment I thought it looked good, but the chasers were too strong. There were still many domestique who could sacrifice themselves," he said on the Jumbo-Visma website.

"I felt good today. Maybe I rode too enthusiastically, but at least I gave it my all. It would have just been nice to be able to reward the team's work with a victory," he continued. With four kilometers to go, Van Aert attacked again, but this attempt also failed within sight of the finish.

With one day to go, Van Aert is in the leader's jersey with a three-second lead over a large group of riders. "I'm happy to still be in the lead. We are in a good starting position with one stage to go, but it is certainly not over yet. Tomorrow it might be better to race more carefully, because today I quickly found myself isolated. I expect a man-to-man duel tomorrow. The strongest will win, hopefully that will be us," he concluded. The Tour of Britain ends tomorrow with a difficult hill stage.