Wout van Aert also claimed his victory in the
Tour of Britain. The Belgian from Jumbo saw teammate Olav Kooij keep his legs still in the last corner, after which Van Aert was able to take the victory.
Afterwards, Van Aert says that his victory was a preconceived plan. "It started as a joke when we looked at the roadbook, but then everyone started thinking about it seriously. It turned out not to be such a bad plan, because if someone did respond, the peloton would be pulled into a ribbon and Olav would still have a chance of winning the stage."
"Races can sometimes be boring, that's why it's nice to make things a bit more exciting. I couldn't believe it when I looked back and saw that I had a big gap. This is a very special victory for me. It is always tricky to make such a plan, but it was executed perfectly."
Van Aert is now also leader in the general classification. In Felixstowe he crossed the line three seconds ahead of the peloton. "This is a big gap in terms of the general classification. There are no bonus seconds to be earned here, so I have to be dropped in the coming days to lose the leader's jersey. This is a very good situation."
Check the video to see how they did this!