Show of love from Van Aert: “My children and my wife Sarah give me the support I need to perform at my best”

Leader of the points classification, Wout Van Aert He already warned after the 12th stage that this week he was in very good shape and today he has materialized his words with his first victory in the 81st edition of the Spanish round, after the three he achieved in 2024.

Second in the mountain classification, the Belgian cyclist has shown himself to be one of the most combative cyclists in the race so far and he did not mind putting on his work overalls and getting to work to position his teammate in the best possible position. Brennan in the stages with a sprint finish, playing their mustaches. A job that stops the team Visma meant the British’s three victories, to which should be added the one achieved this Friday by Van Aert.

He Herentals corridor At the end of the 13th stage, he highlighted that “I just spoke on the phone with my children (Georges and Jerome) and my wife Sarah. Without a doubt, they give me the support I need to perform at my best, and I wanted to say hello to them”, to go on to explain what the team’s tactics were on this day.

“The plan was to enter the breakaway. It was a very difficult stage to control. We knew that with Matthew (Brennan), myself, Bruno (Armirail) and Christophe (Laporte), we had very good runners in a stage like this. We tried to be in the lead with some riders so we could play our cards, and it worked out perfectly. Bruno and I spent a large part of the day on the wheel, because we had ‘Matty’ in the leading group. We were able to catch them on the last climb. With ‘Matty’ and I in a group like that, we both had a chance, but we can also sacrifice for each other. We kept attacking and the final attack worked.”

A tactic that worked and that Vamn Aert finished off at the end. “I had it in mind a little when I saw the profile and that last climb before reaching the town. This distance (3.5 km) is the moment when people start to think about the sprint, and if you manage to open a gap, they will no longer want to close it between themselves. It was close enough to the finish line for it to be worth it. Con Valentin (Paret-Peintre) I had a good partner. “He gave me some relief and it was nice to fight together to the finish line.”