Visma | Lease a Bike saw the fire in Van Aert’s eyes: "He’s not quite the old Wout yet, but..."

Van Aert had barely caught his breath after a near one kilometer lead-out when a Eurosport mic was already in his face. “It is really great to see Olav win after such a strong lead-out, I have to say. We used our horsepower and he had the kick, brilliant,” was his first reaction. “We took responsibility, went all in. Edo dropped us off perfectly and then it was up to me and Olav to finish it.”

After the stage, Kooij explained that he had instructed the team to focus everything on the final corner, and Van Aert delivered exactly that. “We wanted to be in front heading into that last corner. And it worked. Edo and I had the power and we knew that if we could get Olav into position, he would be hard to beat.” Speaking to Sporza, Van Aert gave more credit to his sprint captain. “Olav coached me well. I held back just a little to make sure we stretched it to the corner.”

“Back off for two seconds, then empty the tank,” Van Aert smiled after his massive pull. “I was able to stay sheltered behind Olav for a long time. It was straight ahead until the final turn. At the perfect moment, Affini came through and laid down an incredible effort. That stretched everything out and allowed me to time my lead-out just right. The relief is huge. For sprinters it has not been the most enjoyable Giro so far. The chances are few and far between, especially early on when it was a long wait for the next opportunity.”

The fact that things went wrong in the first two sprint opportunities did not sit well with Visma | Lease a Bike. On stage 4, Van Aert missed the mark and on stage 6, Affini lost the train. “There is a saying, you win or you learn. The last couple of times we didn’t win but we learned. This time we stayed calm and made the most of each other,” said Van Aert. He already struck on stage 9 and now the team tally stands at two wins.

Speaking to IDLProCycling.com, sports director Marc Reef admitted Van Aert had been full of fire all day. “Wout was sharp and motivated on the radio from the start. He kept the team together and stayed focused on the race situation. You could feel he really wanted to do this for Olav, just like he did from the start of this Giro. After those missed chances that desire only grew stronger. So it is fantastic he was able to deliver, not just for himself but for the whole team and for Olav.”

And it was not just Van Aert who brought the hunger. Edoardo Affini also played a crucial role, taking big risks to control the leadout. “It was an incredibly fast finish and everyone wanted to be first through that final corner. In a perfect world I would have pulled a little longer so Wout could lead into it first, but I had already spent a lot just to hold position. We had to trust in our qualities because when we get space we are capable of a lot.”

According to Reef, the lead-out was further proof that Van Aert is growing into this Giro. “His confidence is building, especially after that win on Sunday. But in the days that followed, he was still searching for that right feeling again, just like after his strong opening day. In that sense he’s not quite the old Wout yet, but he is getting better and better. Friday could be a good day for him. On Saturday, Olav will get another shot, and there are more chances coming up for the rest of the team to take a stage win. On top of that, we are in a strong position overall with Simon Yates sitting fourth in the GC.”

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