Wout van Aert gambled and lost at National Championships: "There was nothing to be done against that"

Wout van Aert spent large part of the Belgian Championship ahead of the peloton, but his adventure with Yves Lampaert was over with twenty kilometers from the finish. Jumbo-Visma rider explained in post-race interview that their odds were never particularly high.

Gambled and lost? "That is perhaps well worded, yes," said Van Aert with a smile. "Of course, we had a strong tean. With Nathan and Tosh we always had the upper hand, but that was not always an advantage. The weight was a bit on our shoulders."

At sixty kilometers to go, Van Aert rode away with Lampaert. "We both believed in it, we threw ourselves. But if only two teams are represented at the front, there are also many teams that want to chase. There was nothing to be done against that," said Van Aert, who finally confirmed that he is ready for the Tour de France.