Wout van Aert has gone all out to support Jonas Vingegaard in the final day of the Pyrenees, the Belgian joined the breakaway and was a key part of Jumbo-Visma's strategy to deal a massive blow in the general classification, but Tadej Pogacar made the team have mixed reactions at the end of the day.
“There was no danger for the standings in the leading group and that gave us a little more margin. Luckily I made it over the Tourmalet to help Jonas. On the final climb I was able to pick up the pace, but I didn't have much left. Then it was man against man," van Aert told Sporza at the end of what was another very difficult and attacked day.
The Belgian joined the day's breakaway, but rode more conservatively today. In return, when the mountains came he was among the best from a strong front group, despite his weight. Van Aert led the breakaway up a lot of the Col du Tourmalet narrowing it down to only five riders, and then waited for Jonas Vingegaard, who had been launched from behind.
“I saw a super strong team and everyone could see that we had a battle plan to go on the attack," he said. The plan worked almost to perfection, but Tadej Pogacar managed to followed the move. Van Aert continued with his initial plan however and paced them to the front of the group, and remained in the head of the group all the way into the steep section of the final climb to Cauterets. "I was afraid I would feel my legs after yesterday, but it wasn't too bad."
"I'm very happy that Jonas wears the yellow," he continued, with Jumbo-Visma still dislodging Jai Hindley from the current lead of the race, however only 25 seconds ahead of the Slovenian. "Tadej Pogacar? He has proven that you should not underestimate him. Even after losing time, he is there again the next day."
Van Aert has proved his great form with a terrific performance, and he will continue to chase a stage win, possibly at tomorrow's stage into Bordeaux which will end in a bunch sprint. "Hopefully I will be in this seat again after a stage win. I've been chasing it for four days and now I've done good business with the GC team for two days."
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Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- Congrats! It is done so now is time for CX.averagecyclist15-11-2026
- It's going to happen at some point. It will happen to Tadej as well, we all get older. Jonas was in pretty great form at the tour. I still consider him a top two or three cyclist in the world, until he's not.awp15-11-2026
- mij, I am not so sure of that. I have been on a spine ward at a Denver hospital that had quite a few spinal injuries from mountain biking.BDBigGuy15-11-2026
- Pogi takes care of his teammates in races and training. Tadej Pogačar is widely praised within the cycling peloton for his fair and egalitarian leadership, actively supporting his UAE teammates both on the road during races and behind the scenes at training camps. Rather than acting like an untouchable superstar, he has intense team loyalty by sharing daily chores, giving up personal glory to help domestiques, and publicly praising their sacrifices. Unlike some Grand Tour contenders, like Vingegaard, who occasionally train away from their squads, Pogi consistently attends team training camps alongside his domestiques, making the exact same sacrifices to build friendship. I love how Pogačar shares his teammates-domestiques, either when they succeed or win in races or when they simply just do a good job for him. It has to be a great moral boost for them. And then they work even harder and go even deeper for Pogi. This is teamwork.PogiSloFans15-11-2026
- Yeah, what he said!Lozza15-11-2026
- I’m sure Jasper Philipsen would disagree with you.Lozza15-11-2026
- Article says he was “out for a spin around the town”, implying not off-road.Lozza15-11-2026
- let’s be honest, Alpecin is all about one rider - MVDP. I’m sure he gets whatever he needs, the rest get the scraps.mij15-11-2026
- there are more vicious injuries on a road bike than a mountain bike far and away.mij15-11-2026
- That'll be one crazy rider
Rafionain-Glas15-11-2026
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🇫🇷 #TDF2023 What a job these guys did today. 👊
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