Bakelants analyzes Visma | LaB, while De Cauwer praises van Aert: "He never really left"

“We don't need to dramatize it,” Bakelants begins his analysis of the Killer Bees. “Vingegaard is still the second-best rider in this Tour. Many riders would sign up to be runner-up once. You can always dream of turning it around. He has to keep working hard, doing what he's doing,” says the Belgian.

Bakelants does have a suggestion for the Dane, although he believes it mainly depends on that crafty Tadej Pogacar. “Maybe he needs to find a better balance between his explosiveness and his long-term climbing ability. And maybe they should hope that Pogacar suffers a setback. In that respect, Vingegaard has not been spared in recent years. That will explain part of the gap.”

According to the Belgian analyst, what else could the team have done? “Not much, surprisingly,” Bakelants admits. “They are faced with a phenomenon that only comes around once every 50 years. They have pulled out all the stops, but it didn't work out. I don't think we would have had a different outcome if Visma | Lease a Bike had done anything differently.”

As number two in the GC and winner of the team classification, Visma | Lease a Bike stood on the final podium in Paris on Sunday. Thanks to Van Aert's phenomenal victory, stage 21 was a spectacular end to the Tour for the Dutch team. De Cauwer even saw the victory take on extra sparkle thanks to Pogacar. "We can be happy that it's Pogacar, because I don't think Vingegaard would have competed here. Pogacar fights, and even if he doesn't finish second, he makes Van Aert's victory even more beautiful."

“Wout van Aert pulling away from Pogacar is the best thing you could dream of as a Van Aert fan,” the Belgian commentator continued. After finishing second on day 8, Van Aert secured his tenth stage victory in the Tour at the last minute. “I'm not going to say he's back, because he never left. But this will do him a world of good,” said De Cauwer.

The commentator has fond memories of this Tour. "Wonderful winners, great winners, each with their own story. Cycling has rarely been as beautiful as it is now, as seen in the story of Van der Poel riding with Jonas Rickaert. Just racing for the sake of racing and competing against each other. Sometimes a little angry, but always with an open mind. For me, it was truly one of the most beautiful Tours I have ever seen," concludes De Cauwer.