Van Aert suffered during his comeback race, Lemmen is ambitious and excited following commendable first result in Norway

Thursday, May 23, was a splendid day for Belgian cycling. In the Tour of Norway, Wout van Aert made his comeback after months of dealing with his injuries and the corresponding recovery process, while the opening stage of that same race suited Thibau Nys perfectly. Van Aert finished sixtieth, but he said that he was satisfied with that result after the race.

"It went quite well," Van Aert concluded in an interview with Het Laatste Nieuws and others. "It was a controlled race, so that was great for me." TV footage clearly showed Van Aert positioning himself at the front of the peloton at the beginning of the final climb to Voss Resort (approximately 4 kilometers at an average of 4.5 percent), only to drop back one and a half kilometers from the finish.

"The finale was quite hectic," the cyclist from the Belgian Kempen region said, describing the final phase. "I wanted to support my teammates, but I don't think we were really well-positioned. However, I wanted to at least get them through to the last steep one and a half kilometers. Two kilometers from the finish, I collided with the rider in front of me. That's when I lost my momentum. From the start of the final climb, I was definitely racing at my limit."

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Van Aert felt it in his lungs and was perhaps hoping for a bit more, but remains optimistic

"I could feel in my lungs that it had been a long time since I had to dig that deep," concluded the Belgian superstar. "It seems like I'm not happy because I didn't expect to struggle so much. That's just something I have to get through now. I'm certainly happy with how things went. It's often only afterwards that I realize how things went, so that's why I might sound a bit reserved. It's not my usual experience, to just ride along and struggle in the peloton. I know this is part of it, but you don't get excited over that. Fortunately, I had no issues with my injuries while on the bike."

Visma | Lease a Bike will ultimately look back on the first day in Norway with satisfaction. Bart Lemmen finished an impressive fourth. "I hope to get better in the coming days," Van Aert said regarding what lies ahead, starting with a tricky mountain stage on Friday. The stage finishes on a climb in Gullingen, where the road ascends about six kilometers at an average of 8.5 percent. "A mountain-top finish is obviously very tough, but it will certainly do its job for me," he concluded with hopeful words.

Lemmen already achieved an encouraging result. "I am very satisfied with this. I knew beforehand that if I reach my level, I should compete for the podium. After my collarbone fracture I just didn't know if I would have the same top form as in the Tour Down Under and the UAE Tour. It was wait and see, but I felt good all day. I'm looking forward to tomorrow's stage already," the Dutchman reported through his team's channels.