Wout van Aert rues missed sprint opportunity: "It was a sprint at seventy kilometers per hour, after an easy day. That's not my strong point"

Wout van Aert finished fifth in the 16th stage of the Tour de France 2024, finishing in Nîmes. The Visma - Lease a Bike Belgian was never really in the fight for victory during the final sprint, losing momentum in the chaotic last kilometer and not having the legs to match Jasper Philipsen.

"I didn't feel great," he told Sporza after the race. In the final kilometers, Van Aert was supported by his French teammate Christophe Laporte. "Initially, I was well positioned with Christophe. However, in the last kilometer there were some very treacherous roundaobouts. One kilometer from the finish there was a really tricky roundabout," explained Van Aert.

"There was a bit of a struggle with the elbows, which made us lose momentum and I also lost Christophe as my leadout. It's a shame. Then I had a clear path for the sprint, but I didn't have the legs to finish any closer," he added. The stage was marked by intense heat on the road to Nîmes, "I usually cope well with the heat, but today it wasn't the case. I didn't feel great," Van Aert confessed.

Despite not having his best day, Van Aert wasn't worried about his performance. "Does it raise doubts? Not really. Good legs can't disappear. I recovered well from the last few days, but maybe after the rest day I wasn't active enough. You also have to remember that it was a sprint at seventy kilometers per hour, after an easy day. That's not my strong point," concluded the 29-year-old cyclist.

Van Aert has his eyes on the Olympic Games which will take place in two and half weeks in Paris, but he still has a chance to shine in this Tour on stage 18 into Barcelonette. However, with three mountain stages left, he will remain an important piece of Team Visma | Lease a Bike's plan to continue to take the yellow jersey from Tadej Pogacar.