Van Aert explains why he missed out on Vuelta red in time trial: 'That was my own choice'

Belgian cycling fans were hoping for something special from Wout van Aert in Monaco during the opening time trial of the Vuelta a España, but unfortunately it did not materialize. The Visma | Lease a Bike rider finished eighth, although his main objective remains very much alive: taking the red leader's jersey during the opening weekend is still within reach after his performance.

Van Aert was one of the final riders to start and eventually found himself nine seconds behind Ethan Hayter. The Soudal Quick-Step Brit had produced a blistering time and appeared set for victory, but Tadej Pogačar had something special left. Racing on the streets of his adopted home in Monaco, the Slovenian from UAE Team Emirates-XRG went nine hundredths of a second faster to claim both the stage victory and the first red jersey of the race.

Van Aert therefore came up short in the fight for the stage win, but he was not disappointed with his ride. "I'm happy with it, and I have to be happy with it," he said in the flash interview. "I gave everything, but I'm pretty sure the time I'm missing is what I lost in the corners. I took a little less risk there, and that was my own choice. The legs were good, so I'm happy with this."

There were plenty of those corners on the streets of Monaco, and the technical nature of the course was not entirely to the Belgian time trialist's liking. "The surroundings are very unique. It's special to be able to race here, on closed roads and on the Formula 1 circuit. I really enjoyed that, and I think everyone did. But at certain points I thought it was too technical, a little on the limit through the park and places like that. But that's absolutely no excuse." The 9.4-kilometer course featured 25 corners, making it an unusually technical opening test.

With a nine-second deficit, Van Aert could still take the red jersey by winning Sunday's second stage and collecting the accompanying bonus seconds, provided Pogačar does not finish in the top three. The road to Manosque includes roughly 3,000 meters of climbing, and Van Aert sees enough opportunities on terrain that should suit his strengths. In that respect, those nine seconds leave him exactly where he wanted to be. "That was the range I wanted to finish in. Of course, I started hoping to fight for the victory, but being this close also gives me satisfaction."