Visma | Lease a Bike saw clear signs of a revived van Aert, and GC battle with Yates is taking shape

A few weeks ago, analysts were still discussing a possible top 5 finish for Van Aert in the Giro GC, but the big leader fell ill. Although he was damn close to a stage win and the first pink jersey on day 1, he dropped far behind in the days that followed. First, there was a mediocre time trial, then the (deliberate) drop on a short climb, and then there was anger after his absence in the first lead-out for Olav Kooij. The second attempt at a lead-out also failed.

It all added to the pressure in Belgium. Would we ever see the best van Aert again? Reef even saw van Aert doing some crazy things on Saturday in stage 8. "Wout was very determined to get into the breakaway yesterday; he put too much energy into it, not how he normally would. He wanted it, and when you want something too much, you sometimes try too hard to stay with the group."

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Van Aert was nevertheless the only one who could follow an unleashed Isaac Del Toro of UAE Team Emirates-XRG in the final on Sunday. The Mexican looked set to win on the steep climb to the Piazza del Campo, but an outstanding move on the final straight ensured that van Aert won in Siena. "You try to motivate him; tell him to stick to that wheel. But Wout is so good that he knows what to do," said Reef.

"At the top of that last climb in Siena, he knew there was one chance to make the move; he had 150 meters to do it." And so it happened, as Reef saw. Van Aert came up behind Del Toro but had just a little more power on the flat to get past the new pink jersey wearer. "Wout scouted the final in Italy and ridden Strade several times. So he knew exactly how to deal with it."

At Visma | Lease a Bike, everyone was full of praise on Sunday evening as they gathered around the buses in the evening sun in Siena. "After a challenging period for him, this is a fantastic result. It shows what a champion he is because it hasn't been easy after his crash in the Vuelta (in 2024, ed.), having to come back again, the classics that at times – despite him being there – didn't go quite as he would have liked..."

Reef even saw a revival here in this Giro. "He's showing his greatest strength: always coming back after a setback. He's shown that again here because his preparation was very difficult. It was a real struggle for him up to stage 5, where he sometimes couldn't even do his job on a flat stage. But from that moment on, things got better every day. On day 6, the good feeling returned a little, although we certainly didn't expect it."

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"However, Wout was determined, with his family cheering him on from the sidelines, and Siena is special to him, having already won the Strade Bianche there. It's really fantastic that he's winning here now," Reef said proudly. The result of 'keeping his spirits up' and 'above all, persevering, believing that things will get better.' "He must be here and in the race: finishing the Giro with what's still to come. He missed that last year, so consistency and racing will help him take another step forward."

With two weeks of the Giro, the outlook is suddenly very positive. Is van Aert back to his best? Reef: "He never really lost his smile, and you could see in the race that he was improving and becoming the old Wout again. He talked more again; he wanted to know what was happening in the race, so he pulled the guys together. The step to a stage win like that is quite big, but Wout is mentally strong. When he has something in his head, it can lead to such beautiful moments."

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In the shadow of Van Aert, there was another highlight for Visma | Lease a Bike on day 9. Simon Yates finished fifth and moved to sixth place in the GC, 12 seconds off the podium. "Simon has been where he needs to be throughout the Giro. That's his quality: he watches from the background and doesn't immediately push to the front. But as a team, we were the first to turn onto the first section, the most important point of the day. He did that fantastically well."

And so Reef saw a Yates who could suddenly be in contention for the prizes in weeks 2 and 3. "The results show us a lot, but a first uphill finish like Friday's is always slightly different, with only 3 kilometers to go. We can see that he is calm, confident, and feeling good. That's important with what's coming up, also for Wout. But let's enjoy this first because it was a difficult first week. Then we'll look ahead."

Bram van der Ploeg (Twitter: @BvdPloegg | email: [email protected])