Crash during recon shakes Wout van Aert in Germany: "It affected my confidence a bit"

Van Aert was just more than two seconds short of beating Soren Waerenskjold (Uno-X) to victory. “I can live with fifth place. It was a tough effort: short, but super fast. I think I rode a good time trial, but it didn't feel like I had the winning time.”

“There was some serious decompression after the Tour. It's been a very long year, with the cyclo-cross, the classics, the Giro, and the Tour. I needed a break, and I felt in Hamburg that my condition was not as good, so this result is satisfying,” he told the Visma | Lease a Bike bus.

During the recon, we suddenly saw Van Aert riding with ripped pants. What happened? “That's a good question. I slid out during the second lap of the recon, and that shook my confidence in the corners a bit. I lost some time where I should have been good.”

Over the next four days, the classification of the Lidl Deutschland Tour will be decided in a few flat and slightly hilly stages. “I have a free role. With Matthew Brennan riding like he is this year, it's no surprise that we also defend his chances in the sprints. We have two leaders in this race.”

Apart from Steven Kruijswijk, the yellow and black selection consists of young riders, with Brennan joined by Tijmen Graat, Nikias Behrens, and Matisse Van Kerckhove from the U23 team. “I'm not at the point yet where I'm just there to teach the young guys, but at this point in the year it's nice,” explains Van Aert, who chose Germany instead of Renewi. “The Renewi Tour is a WorldTour race, and you have to start with ambitions to get results. Here, there's a little less pressure.”

“My main goal is to take a step forward here towards the races that are coming up,” he explains. “Unfortunately, Plouay has become a bit tougher again, but together with Quebec, it's still the goal for this fall. I don't think you can talk about a peak, but it was also too early to call it quits.”

So we will still see Van Aert in action in Plouay, Canada, and finally in the Super 8 Classic on September 20. “Missing a championship like the World Championships is unfortunate, but after the Tour, it wasn't a difficult decision. With such a World Championship at altitude and a tough course, I really would have had to start preparing seriously. Mentally, I'm not ready for that right now.”

We won't see him in action in South Limburg on October 12 either, which is a shame. “I would have liked to ride the World Gravel Championships, but it's very late in the season. Part of our plan to end the season early was to be able to rest and have a good winter, and unfortunately, the World Gravel Championships are too late for that.”