Nathan Van Hooydonck: "Wout winning here is my reward. That's why I do it"

Jumbo Visama has regained their lead with Wout’s another stage victory. Nathan Van Hooydonck, the teammate of Wout Van Aert, may not have finished in the top position, but he played a crucial role in his victory.

For most of the stage, he rode at the front of the peloton and managed to control the breakaway. “You ride the whole day in front of it, and you know that if everything goes well, he will be very close. But you always have to do it," Van Hooydonck said "We had ridden solidly in the previous stages as well to keep our leaders at the front, but this is still just a bit trickier."

He is content with his position and pleased that his efforts helped his friend win the stage. “At the end, there were some motivating words from Van Aert. That's nice. When you have a team like that, you throw yourself one hundred percent. In terms of cycling, this is really a dream. Wout winning here is my reward. That's why I do it. We are in a good flow with the team, hopefully, we can keep it that way," concluded Hooydonck.