Wout Van Aert challenges other teams: "Can't some teams try do something different?"

Wout van Aert finished fourth on Tuesday in the tenth stage of the Tour de France, won by Jasper Philipsen. The Belgian from Visma | Lease a Bike said he felt fine, but was a bit disappointed with the uneventful stage. "I don't think anyone is happy with that."

Van Aert was in a good position to start the sprint. "Third place was definitely within reach, but I'm satisfied with fourth," he said while analyzing his final kilometer. "Coming out of the first corner, I let a few guys slip by, which caused me to lose some places by the second corner. That was unfortunate because Christophe Laporte did a really good job there. He could have launched me, so that's a pity."

"It's definitely a missed opportunity," the Belgian judged through his team's channels. "If I could have sprinted alongside Philipsen, then you really know who is the fastest. Now, he's the one being led out, and it's impossible to make up ground."

Van Aert would like to see more action in this Tour

On the rest day, Van Aert spoke about his inconsistent performance in this Tour, but how did he feel the day after? "It was a very easy stage, but I felt okay. It's a shame that such a stage is in the race, because I don't think anyone is happy with that," he shifted the conversation.

"It starts with the riders who have to believe in it, I think," said the Belgian. "If you're at the front and you survive the echelon section, then you have a real chance. But there are no teams that can or want to try that. There was an opportunity for echelons, but strange things happen with guys attacking and then dropping back. While it's a big race, I would really like the freedom to try something. I focus on my sprint and, of course, they don't let me go, but surely there are enough teams that can do something different? Besides the sprinter and general classification teams," he gives other teams something to think about.