“Winning once always gives the team a boost” – But Wout van Aert says it will not be him fighting for that win on stage 6 of the Giro

Just five stages into the 2025 Giro d’Italia, and it’s already been a difficult opening week for Team Visma | Lease a Bike. While much of the pre-race focus was on Wout van Aert's return to Grand Tour action, illness in the lead-up has severely limited his impact. After a promising second-place finish on stage 1, Van Aert has been struggling to find his usual punch, while rival Mads Pedersen has surged to three stage wins from the opening five days.

Heading into stage 6, Van Aert has confirmed to HLN that he will not be going for the stage win himself. Instead, the Belgian will ride in support of teammate Olav Kooij, signalling a shift in the team’s tactics as they look to reset after a challenging start.

“It's more straightforward, difficult to time today. I think we can use more of our strength here on this arrival. I feel fit again, yesterday was a step in the right direction. Today I'm not going for a stage win, we're definitely going to try to go with Olav.”

The decision comes as Van Aert shows signs of recovery, even if he isn’t yet back to full strength, “I did have an optimistic feeling, it went better than the last few days. It really went better than the day before, with those legs I would have been dropped much earlier yesterday. It was still difficult.”

For Visma | Lease a Bike, morale has taken a hit. A team used to dominating races has found itself chasing Pedersen and Lidl-Trek in the opening week, and the pressure is clearly mounting.

“Winning once always gives the team a boost. The fact that things aren't going so well now is not so easy to deal with, but things are going better now. I'm not here to prove anything to anyone. I'm here to improve and at some point I'll show it.”