Wout Van Aert talks about mentally tough day at Tour de Suisse: "You felt that there was a lot of respect in the peloton"

In the seventh stage of the Tour de Suisse, it was Remco Evenepoel who soloed to victory. Few moments later, Jumbo-Visma leader Wout van Aert, in the points classification leader's jersey sprinted to second place.

"It was a difficult day for everyone today," Van Aert opens the interview for Cycling Pro Net. "You felt that there was a lot of respect in the peloton. Each team was a bit different in its own way. Some teams preferred not to continue racing, while other teams thought it was good that the race continued. I think it's great that we respected everyone's opinion."

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"Somehow I think it was also good that we were able to race in the last 25 kilometers," he refers to the fact that the peloton finished the stage at a leisurely pace, the classification times were recorded at 25 kilometers and the final could be raced. "That way you could try to turn that black page a bit."

On the last stage, riders will encounter 25,7 km time trial. "This time trial is longer and harder than the opening time trial. And if I'm right, the second half contains a tough climb. So I think guys like Remco Evenepoel and Matthias Skjelmose, real classification riders, have more of an advantage. But of course it remains a great opportunity," Van Aert concludes.

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PREVIEW | Tour de Suisse 2023 stage 8 - Evenepoel, Ayuso and Skjelmose to fight for race win on hilly time-trial

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🇨🇭#tourdesuisse2023 Great effort by Wout today.

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