'Their support gives me the energy I need'; Wout van Aert thanks Visma and his family after Vuelta stage win

He had to wait a while for it, but on stage 13 of the Vuelta a España, it was finally Wout van Aert who claimed his first victory in the Spanish stage race. The Belgian finished the transition stage to Loja in convincing fashion, which naturally brought great satisfaction to the Visma | Lease a Bike rider.

Van Aert was part of a leading group of 45, from which 10 riders broke away. Among them was Matthew Brennan, but at Visma | Lease a Bike , the plan was clear: put all their eggs in Wout’s basket.

The Belgian had Bruno Armirail to keep the gap small and then crossed over convincingly himself, only to break away in the final stretch and seal the deal.

After crossing the finish line, it was, of course, a wild celebration, during which Van Aert even found a moment to call his family back home. “I just had a quick call with my sons and Sarah. Their support gives me the energy I need for performances like this, so I’d really like to say hello to them,” he says, addressing the camera.

Van Aert explained Visma | Lease a Bike’s race strategy. “The idea was to join the early breakaway. It was a difficult stage to control, and we knew that riders like Matthew and Bruno would be there too—riders who are excellent at this kind of work. We wanted to have several teammates at the front so we could play it out tactically. That worked out perfectly.”

"Bruno and I were able to stay in the lead group for most of the day because we already had Matthew up front. On the final climb, we were able to make the breakaway. "When you're in a group like that with Matthew, we both have what it takes to win, but we're also willing to sacrifice ourselves for each other. We kept attacking, and the decisive breakaway paid off," said Van Aert.

The Belgian launched his decisive attack 3.5 kilometers from the finish line. “That was definitely on my mind, yes. I’d studied the course profile and knew there was still a small climb just before the village. At that specific point, many riders are already starting to think about the sprint,” explains the eventual winner.

"If you manage to open up a gap, no one wants to close it for someone else. It was close enough to the finish to be worth the risk. Besides, I had a great partner in Valentin (Paret-Peintre, ed.); he took over a few turns, and it was great to fight our way to the finish line together,” said Van Aert, who claimed his fifteenth stage victory in a Grand Tour.