De Cauwer on Van Aert’s third place: "You can look back to last year: should he have pushed a bit more?"

Wout van Aert finished a very impressive third place in the opening stage of the Tour de France on Saturday. The Belgian was primarily proud — and emotional — about being back in form after his severe injuries from earlier this year and did not seem to immediately lament the potentially missed opportunity to snatch the yellow jersey. If only Frank van den Broek and Romain Bardet had not stayed ahead...

"I never expected this," was Van Aert’s initial reaction. "I’m very happy with this result. I couldn’t have predicted being at this level. I felt good along the way. At the moments when many riders struggled, I still felt fresh. After the last climb, we decided to go all out for the stage win. There was cooperation with other teams, but the two leaders stayed out of reach. Hats off to them."

"It means a lot to me to show this level of performance again. After the crash in Dwars door Vlaanderen, I had a really tough time. I came to this Tour with many doubts, but as the stage progressed, I regained my confidence. I started to believe in it, and the guys went all out for me. I’m proud of how we performed," Van Aert added, praising his teammates who did everything to set him up for the sprint.

De Cauwer: "Somehow it feels like a missed opportunity"

Jose De Cauwer and Renaat Schotte discussed the stage on Sporza post-racce. "Somewhere, it feels like a missed opportunity, because you win the sprint behind two guys who wouldn’t normally stay ahead. You can look back to Bilbao or San Sebastian last year: should someone have given one more push?" said De Cauwer, referring to the controversy in Belgium after Jonas Vingegaard didn’t chase behind Lafay.

"Between the lines, you’re saying that with one more turn from, say, Vingegaard, it could have been possible?" Schotte pointed out. "Or with an extra push three kilometers before the top of the last climb, with someone like Jorgenson starting a bit earlier. But you don’t know that. And at that moment, you think those guys won’t stay ahead. They surprised everyone with their strength," De Cauwer acknowledged.

All in all, the final assessment is positive. "A good team from Visma-Lease a Bike," De Cauwer concluded. "With an attentive Vingegaard riding at the front, even though there was so much uncertainty about whether he would join in. I’m not saying Vingegaard and Van Aert are at 100%, but they are definitely in good shape."