Van Aert remains calm after disappointing first kilometers on time trial bike in 2024: "That's a stupid excuse"

Wout van Aert is not very happy that he only finished eleventh in the time trial at the Tour of Algarve on Saturday. The Belgian from Visma | Lease a Bike - who, after the spring classics, will make the time trial a major goal - lost a minute over 22 kilometers, compared to Remco Evenepoel.

Van Aert won the third stage on Friday, after having gone all out in the first mountain stage on Thursday. Perhaps that was all a bit too much? "It was tough since I hadn't trained on the time trial bike at all, but that's a stupid excuse. It's everyone's job to prepare optimally. It was a deliberate decision to do it this way, and I made the best of it."

"I'm not disappointed," he continues. "As we head towards the Giro d'Italia, we'll focus more on the time trial and I'll get used to the position. I found it good today and it was a good test, but my legs still need to improve. On Sunday, we'll first see what the standings look like and how far I am from the podium. Depending on that, we'll see how I will race."

In an interview with HLN, Van Aert mentioned that he simply never felt right during the time trial. "From the start, it was painful. I never found the rhythm and suffered. The aim was to pick up speed towards the next bends. If your legs don't allow that, the loss is double: you slow down on the climb and can't pick up speed on the descent. I felt that it was the first time in a long while I was on the time trial bike. But that was a conscious choice, so I shouldn't complain about it."

Video: Wout van Aert reacts after 11th place in the Algarve