Does Wout van Aert fancy a run at the Vuelta a España time trial? Here's what he had to say

Matthew Brennan brought his total for Visma | Lease a Bike in the 2026 Vuelta a España to five on Wednesday. Teammate Wout van Aert once again played a key role in the victory. The Belgian now has two stage wins after seventeen stages, but does he still see opportunities? Speaking to Eurosport, he looked ahead to Thursday’s time trial.

Van Aert once again ensured that Brennan could start the sprint from a good position in Seville. The Belgian himself had finished second there two years ago, which, according to the British winner, provided “extra motivation” on the Visma team bus.

"I had a fairly modest role," Van Aert said. "My teammates brought the breakaway back, which took quite a bit of energy in the end, but they handled it well. In the last 5 kilometers, I covered an attack by Oliveira. I didn't feel well enough anymore to do a real lead-out."

"When Uno-X put in such a massive effort, it seemed better to get Brennan into a good position up front rather than start a sprint that was too slow. I was able to drop him off in Magnus Cort's wheel for the final 500 meters. "It was important work, but he really finished it off on his own," says Van Aert.

On Wednesday evening, Visma | Lease a Bike will be popping the champagne for the seventh time. “The atmosphere in the team is great. On the one hand, we might have hoped for a better general classification with Kuss, Nordhagen, or Tulett. But now that the GC contenders are out of the race, we can focus entirely on our main goal: winning stages. The fact that everyone is giving it their all every day feels great and is incredibly motivating.”

On Thursday, Van Aert may be able to add a third stage win to his total, as a time trial is on the schedule. “It’s definitely a great opportunity—something I hadn’t really thought about before this race, but I’m looking forward to going for it tomorrow. Winning the mountain jersey will be very difficult given Buitrago’s current form, so those stages are a bit less interesting to me.”

"I try to seize opportunities wherever they arise. Now that a few specialized time trialists are already out of the race, I think my chances are just a little better," Van Aert says, referring to the withdrawals of Joshua Tarling and Jay Vine, among others. On Sunday, the final stage in Granada should also present another good opportunity for Van Aert, who last won a time trial in 2023, when he became the Belgian champion in the discipline.