Wout van Aert in yellow despite second near-miss - "Many more opportunities to come"

Wout van Aert is perhaps the most consistent rider in the peloton, and has ridden to another second place today in Nyborg. The Jumbo-Visma rider finished the stage in second place and now leads both general and points classifications.

"I have the yellow jersey, then it would be strange not to be satisfied," van Aert said at the end of the day. He once again failed to get the win, however his remarkable consistency has brought him the yellow jersey at the Tour de France. “I expected a lot of hectic today and that it would continue. There was just never a chance to pull it aside. There were a lot of people on the side, which made it dangerous," he said of the second day in Denmark.

With focus in protecting it's GC riders, van Aert couldn't enjoy full commitment from the team such as many of his rivals did, however he had strong positioning and support towards the end from Christophe Laporte: "A big thank you to Laporte, who set me off beautifully in the intermediate sprint and in the final," he said. After his effort, van Aert not only jumped to yellow but also kept the green jersey despite the win from Fabio Jakobsen. 

Van Aert seemed to be on the way to his seventh win in the Grand Boucle, but was overtaken in the final few meters. "I came from there from behind Mads Pedersen and had the shortest line. That made me think I was going to win, but Jakobsen came quickly from behind," he described.

“It's a shame to be second, but Raymond Poulidor also became a great champion. I am very happy with the yellow jersey as a reward. And there are many more opportunities to come this Tour. This is a great start and I am happy to be able to ride in that jersey," he concluded.