Van Aert laughs at an unusual statistic after Vuelta won: 'I'll never come back here again'

The heat took its toll on the Vuelta a España on day fifteen. The organizers shortened the stage, which wasn’t bad news for Visma | Lease a Bike. The Dutch team controlled the race all day, and it was Wout van Aert who ultimately sealed the deal with a five-man sprint in Córdoba. With this victory, he secured Visma | Lease a Bike’s fifth stage win in this Vuelta.

For Van Aert, it was an especially memorable stage victory. Two years ago, he also won in Córdoba, when he took the sprint from a thinned-out peloton. This time, he led the charge himself and ensured he remained undefeated in the Spanish city. “I don’t think I’ll ever come back here again, because I’ll never be able to hold onto this record,” he laughs during the flash interview. “But maybe I’ll come back for a vacation,” he adds with a wink.

Because the stage was shortened, Visma | Lease a Bike was able to control the race a bit more easily over the 110-kilometer stage. The Killer Bees did so with gusto, but Van Aert knew that most of his competitors expected him and his team to set up Matthew Brennan for the sprint. However, the green jersey wearer chose to accelerate on his own.

"We tried to catch the peloton off guard," he says. "We took control all day, and we still had a few strong guys there to help us. But I knew people wouldn’t expect us to attack. I sensed the right moment at the intermediate sprint, and with Matthew behind me, there was no risk, because we had a strong option in the peloton. That’s how I want to race.”

Thibau Nys (Lidl-Trek) and Ramses Debruyne (Alpecin-Premier Tech) ensured that there were three Belgians at the front. Andreas Leknessund (Uno-X) and Alessandro Romele (XDS Astana) were the others. “My Belgian teammates were very strong, but so was Romele from Astana. Leknessund was banking a bit on his teammate behind us, so we did expect an attack from them. But they waited too long to make their move, so I wanted to keep the group together in the final kilometers for a sprint.”

A fifth stage win for Visma | Lease a Bike: it’s a real treat for the Dutch team. “It’s amazing,” Van Aert exclaims. “Most days when we thought we had a chance, we won. We can be proud of how we took control as a team today. I’m very grateful for all the work the guys have put in again.”