Not every second place feels the same: Visma | Lease a Bike sees Van Aert "swallow bitter pill," but Laporte surprises

Visma | Lease a Bike finished second twice on Saturday, but the silver places in the Renewi Tour and Vuelta a España felt like night and day. Christophe Laportes surprised in Belgium, sprinting to second place behind Jasper Philipsen. In the Vuelta, however, the team settled for nothing less than a sprint victory for Van Aert, who could not live up to that.

Visma | Lease a Bike controlled the fourteenth stage of the Vuelta from start to finish, allowing a leading group to shake it off, and we sprinted despite 2,900 altimeters and 45 kilometers per hour average. Van Aert was a top favorite, but Kaden Groves was too fast for him uphill. "I'm disappointed, of course, because the team worked so hard. That I couldn't win is a bitter pill to swallow," the Belgian said afterward, smiling like a farmer with a toothache.

Van Aert's teammates first kept the breakaway riders under control, and on the final climb of the day, the pace was high. However, that did not result in any casualties. "I expected that last climb to be harder. It wasn't steep at all, though, of course, it's never easy. In the wheel, it was easy, so the sprinters didn't go off. Nevertheless, I was confident I could make my best sprint and finish it, but in the last fifty meters, I cramped up. Groves was just stronger."

The fact that Van Aert rode fast from the breakaway on Thursday and Friday, perhaps, bothered him in the sprint on Saturday. "Maybe, although Groves was also in the breakaway yesterday and didn't have an easy day either. In hindsight, winning races is always easy," he reflected. Van Aert already won three stages this round and did ride himself from the break into the polka dot jersey and more firmly into the green. "I think we did a great job in the end. No other team dared to control, and we made it a sprint. It's a shame I didn't complete it, but it was excellent teamwork, and I picked up some mountain points on that last climb. That was good."

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Laporte second in Renewi Tour and still in the race

In Belgium, in the Renewi Tour, Laporte finished second, and the disappointment of that performance was far from over afterward. Laporte picked up six bonification seconds behind winner Philipsen and, heading into Sunday's final stage, is now fifth overall, seventeen seconds behind leader Alex Segaert. "The team did great, dropping me off in a good position. I was in Jasper's wheel, and that turned out to be a good choice. He was simply too fast in the sprint," Laporte told a team press release.

His sprint result nevertheless offers a perspective for the final day, in which there will be much climbing toward Geraardsbergen. "I hope I have the legs to go for the stage win. The stage suits me, so I want to show something nice if I feel good."