Wout van Aert races best time among "normal people": "Those two are not normal"

He seemed well on his way to victory in the time trial of stage 16 in the Tour de France, but Wout van Aert ultimately clocked the third time in Combloux. Disappointed? Van Aert is certainly frustrated, although he knows very well who finished ahead of him.

"I'm the best among the normal people," Van Aert tells Eurosport after the finish. "Those other two are not normal people," the Belgian says, referring to winner Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar.

Did Van Aert expect the time gap between him and the duo to be so big? "No, definitely not. Not even after the past few days. But I know Jonas is a good time trialist. He has made huge improvements."

"The difference between these two and the rest of us is so big. But it's not over yet. It's certainly been a good day for us. We have to keep fighting until Paris because the Vosges are still ahead. Now, it's time to recover well and to look ahead to tomorrow," says the Jumbo-Visma rider.

Van Aert satisfied with time trial

How did the all-rounder feel about his own time trial? "I just rode a good time trial at my level. No worse or better than other time trials," he tells the cameras of Sporza. "I had hoped to have a bit more juice left in the final part, but it was a horrible struggle to the finish."

Van Aert started this time trial without expectations. "I didn't think I could win this time trial. Looking at the results, it's nice to keep the others at bay though. At the last intermediate point, I knew I had the fastest time and that I was gaining time, so I paced myself well."

Has the Tour been decided? Van Aert responds to this question with a sharp remark: "It's surprising that you're asking that question now. But there are still a few days until Paris. We won the Tour last year because we stayed focused until the last day. But we have also lost on the final day before."