Wout van Aert "especially disappointed to miss out on the stage win" after Jumbo-Visma miscalculate
Cycling
The second stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné was one that didn't present much of a challenge for the peloton to be able to control the breakaway, however a combination of occasional lack of commitment and lack of firepower led to the break succeeding and Alexis Vuillermoz jumping into the race lead.
Jumbo-Visma controlled the day from the start alongside EF Education-EasyPost, however the work of Chris Harper and Nathan van Hooydonck was not enough throughout the day to reel in the six-rider group that went up the road early on. The peloton let the gap stay big until too late in the stage, up to which point the group took advantage of the generally downhill finale and lack of pure sprinters in the peloton to stay ahead.
"You should always try to sprint for the victory first. Logically, the pressure was on us in the race. We put Chris in the lead. The leading group was strong on the long climb. After that, it went downhill a lot and you couldn't make up much. We underestimated that. In the last thirty kilometres they only lost one minute," van Aert said after the finish.
Trek - Segafredo and EF Education-EasyPost put in serious efforts to reel in the break, but occasional lack of work from Jumbo and INEOS Grenadiers saw the gap stall, and even increase in the final kilometers. With GC aspirations the Dutch team didn't want to commit to a full-on chase with Tiesj Benoot and Steven Kruijswijk, but eventually the duo made the effort aswell - only too late in the day. Both teams had riders coming into the final kilometer to leadout their sprinters, but the gap was too big at that point to be brought back.
"Everyone on the team did his turn, even Primoz in the final. I would have preferred to keep the yellow, but I am especially disappointed to miss out on the stage win. In the sprint, I won quite easily, but it's a shame it wasn't for the victory," he added. Van Aert went on to easily come first in the sprint for the peloton, missing out on an opportunity by just five seconds.
Tomorrow van Aert will no longer be in yellow, but he should be the man to beat once again. However, he points at his teammate to carry the flag for the team: "We are going to see how we will handle it tomorrow. It's an important day for Primoz. If not for the stage win, then at least for the GC. It will be a tricky finale in any case," he concluded.
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.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- Are you MrMauMau 2.0? Nothing you are saying is really relevant. Vaguely connected, but irrelevant. The conversation is whether Schreiber impeded Brand or not.
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- What a race! I didn't expect Vanthourenhout to collapse like that, and Wyseure did take the fight to Nys, but there was no doubt at the end. I also wonder what Aubin Sparfel would be capable of were he to race in the elites now. In the U23 ranks he is making good work of Giel Lejeune, who himself is among the better riders in the elites, and a top 10 contender in the big races (3rd at Kleebergcross, 8th at Berencross and 5th at Heerderstrand). In the French Cup, Sparfel is significantly better than Romain Debord (8th at Koppenbergcross and 10th at the Euros) and Rémi Lelandais (12th at Koppenbergcross and 19th at the Euros).Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
Loading
🇫🇷 #Dauphiné Stage 2️⃣ comes to an end. It’s 6️⃣th for @WoutvanAert, who wins the bunch sprint behind the break-away.
Write a comment