"When we saw the weather forecast yesterday, we had already prepared ourselves for it," said the Belgian. It showed. Visma | Lease a Bike stretched out the peloton at one point, causing a massive selection with only 43 riders able to stay with the peloton.
And that while a tough Pyrenees weekend was coming up. Why spending so much energy in this action? "If you don’t participate, you're behind. When it split for the second time, sixty kilometres from the finish, I was a bit too far away myself. Suppose you’re there with Jonas, then it’s all hands on deck. When you’re riding with Jonas, you always have to be at the front."
Benoot and Visma | Lease a Bike believed that the fans could carry them to the end. "Certainly. Why not? I think we only sprinted with half a peloton." In that sprint, Wout van Aert
finished second. "Yes, it’s a shame. It was really a stage for Wout. It was a very difficult day and then a sprint with a smaller peloton. That’s something that suits him perfectly. But I think it was a good stage for us overall, just a shame for Wout."