Wout van Aert had came into the Tour de France with very modest expectations and thinking mostly of support for Jonas Vingegaard, but that may be changing. The Belgian may have freedom to chase his own ambitions and he tells at the start of the stage that he will likely aim for the final bunch sprint in Torino.
"I hope so, I feel okay after yesterday. If that continues, then I want to try," van Aert said this morning in the microphone of Wielerflits. "The shortest train in history, I will normally have Christophe Laporte at my side to bring me. That is one of the best lead-outs you can have. We will have to find our way."
The Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider has found himself having strong form on the opening day of the race, resisting the climbs quite well and then sprinting for third place on the day - first out of the peloton. This has motivated him to go for another result today possibly, even though - despite being the longest day of the race - it is one that does not really feature any climbing.
Van Aert however starts the day with some memories from stage 2, where he hit the deck before the intermediate sprint. "I have some serious burns on my buttocks, so it was not pleasant. But fortunately it is not too bad," he says of it. It should not prevent him from putting on a strong ride this afternoon.
The Belgian also comments on the fight for the yellow jersey. Today, four riders start the stage with the same time and it's not expected that any will get bonifications. Tadej Pogacar carries yellow but doesn't seem to keen to have it; and so Jonas Vingegaard, Richard Carapaz and Remco Evenepoel also have a chance to take it. "That will be interesting to follow. We will focus on finishing safely. I would advise Remco to go for the yellow, you can only have had it," he says specifically.
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