Lucky break, but only after a crash: how an unfortunate teammate helped Wout van Aert onto the Sanremo podium
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At 32.2 kilometres from the finish of Milan-Sanremo, there was probably a collective groan in Belgian living rooms when Wout van Aert hit the deck on the run-in to the Cipressa. A German working for a Dutch team felt exactly the same in that moment as well, but an hour and a half later he was already smiling again as he faced the media.
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Van Aert crashed, just like Tadej Pogačar and Mathieu van der Poel, in the approach to the key point of Milan-Sanremo. While Van der Poel and eventually Pogačar were quickly back on their way, that was less true for Van Aert. It looked like his race was over.
Nothing could have been further from the truth, as Van Aert still found himself shining on the podium in Sanremo later on. “I was unlucky because I didn’t get a new bike immediately after the crash,” he said afterwards about the incident. And on the team effort that followed: “The guys rode in front of me and around me, so I had to go for the best possible result. I spent the whole finale chasing the race and only realised late on that I was riding for the podium.”
Read on below the video!
Was Jorgenson’s bike change a blessing in disguise?
In the end, there turned out to be a small stroke of luck amid the bad luck, both literally and figuratively. Grischa Niermann explained it this way: “At one point they were a minute down. When Matteo Jorgenson also had to change bikes, they came together and were then able to start the Cipressa side by side. But they were still a long way behind the peloton.”
That proved to be the rescue. “Matteo was super strong, right on the limit,” said Van Aert. Together, the two of them stormed up the Cipressa and set the third-fastest ascent time as a duo, or fourth if you also count Van der Poel alongside Pogačar and Ganna from last year, according to Strava .
“At that point we had lost the overview, because they were no longer on screen,” Niermann said, describing the view from the Visma | Lease a Bike team car. “But we told everyone to wait, except Christophe and Victor, in case they could still do something after the Cipressa. In the end that worked out very well, because Victor brought him back.”
Continue reading below the photo.
Niermann: “Van Aert proves again what a strong rider he is”
Even after a third place in Sanremo, the Dutch team kept its feet on the ground. “Wout is a great champion and a very, very good rider, even if that has not really come out yet this season. Here he has shown again what a strong rider he is.”
“But there is no point arguing that Pogačar and Van der Poel are stronger, and that they will also be stronger in the Classics. Still, I do think a little bit of pressure has come off Wout.” At the same time, Niermann was realistic: “Pogačar rode away from everyone and won, so there is nothing to argue with there either.”
“We try to keep expectations as low as possible, but especially in Belgium they are simply sky high. You probably feel that in a moment like this, even though half an hour earlier everything had gone completely wrong. I think we raced brilliantly as a team, given the circumstances.”
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Tom van der Salm (27) comes from the charming town of Zeilberg (Deurne) in the Netherlands and has been working as editor-in-chief & journalist at IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, In de Leiderstrui, since 2019. He travels with the peloton from the Tour de France to the AlUla Tour and from the World Championships in Rwanda or Canada to the Zilvermeercross in Mol. In his spare time he enjoys playing football, mountain biking, running, walking with his Labrador/Stabyhoun, investing, holidays, (specialty) beers, reading, cooking and watching sports & documentaries!
Contact: [email protected]
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