No stage win, but Wout van Aert sees Tirreno-Adriatico as a successful test

Wout van Aert will likely finish Tirreno-Adriatico without a stage win, but that doesn’t mean the Belgian will return home disappointed. The Visma | Lease a Bike rider has had the opportunity over the past days to sharpen his form and put the finishing touches on his preparations for Milan-San Remo.

On Saturday, Van Aert spent much of the tough sixth stage of Tirreno-Adriatico at the front of the race. Visma | Lease a Bike had hopes of going for the overall win with Matteo Jorgenson, but in the finale Isaac Del Toro proved too strong for the American. Still, Van Aert made a brave attempt in the closing phase to support Jorgenson, launching a surprise attack just before the final climb in Camerino.

The Belgian was reeled back in on the first steep sections, but his attack served a bigger purpose. “You can’t simulate this in training. Even with a strict schedule, you always choose a certain comfort zone,” he said afterwards in interviews with Het Nieuwsblad and Sporza, among others.

“Here the pace is set by someone else, here you have to ride in a peloton, respond to attacks… You need that race feel. And it’s a cliché, but you can’t replicate that.”

Super satisfied
Although Van Aert came up short for victory in ‘his’ punchy stages, he still looks back on a successful week. “With a win, maybe we could have scored even higher. But overall, I’m super satisfied.”

“I was able to do my thing in a few stages, came close to winning once (in Thursday’s stage, ed.) and I just feel good. This is what I had in mind for this week.”