Wout van Aert has something to celebrate, but also knows why he didn't win the Vuelta a España time trial

Wout van Aert went all out for the win in the time trial during Stage 18 of the Vuelta a España. However, the Belgian rider from Visma | Lease a Bike reached his limits and thus had to settle for fifth place. Afterward, Van Aert was able to explain exactly what had gone wrong.

Van Aert has already won two stages in this Vuelta a España, helped teammate Matthew Brennan secure five stage wins, and has long been in contention for the green points jersey. In the individual time trial of just over 32 kilometers, Van Aert can therefore go all out with a clear head in the race against the clock.

At the first intermediate checkpoint, the gap between stage winner Stefan Küng (Tudor) and Van Aert was just 5 seconds; at the second intermediate checkpoint, Van Aert was still the second-fastest, 7 seconds behind, but at the finish line the gap was 19 seconds. “I have to be happy with this top-five finish; I have no regrets,” he said in the flash interview.

To have a chance at another stage win, Van Aert knew he had to do things differently than the others. “I knew I had to start fast if I wanted to win the stage. Because of that, I kind of burned out a bit in the final stretch. I already knew from how I felt that I was riding too slowly to win. But it was nice to give it a try.”

There was still something to celebrate on Thursday for Van Aert, who, by finishing in the top 9, built an insurmountable lead in the points classification. If the Belgian stays in the race and finishes the last three stages, the green jersey is his in Granada. “I didn’t know that, but it’s a nice bonus to take into those final stages.”

Van Aert promised to focus on his teammates during the final two mountain stages on Friday and Saturday. The mountain classification no longer seems to be an option. “I’ll focus on Sepp and Jørgen,” he said, referring to Kuss and Nordhagen, who will go on the attack in search of stage victory. “They still have a chance to win. I’ll keep my eyes on Sunday.”