Wout van Aert knows all too well that he made a crucial mistake after massive-power climb
CyclingThursday, 12 March 2026 at 17:02
Wout van Aert looked super strong, but when he entered the final kilometre in a group of 14 riders, the Belgian from Visma | Lease a Bike may have been just a little too eager. He closed the gap to late attacker Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and in doing so effectively launched the sprint for eventual winner Mathieu van der Poel.
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That Van Aert was highly motivated for stage 4 of Tirreno-Adriatico had already become clear before the start. With a sharp look in his eyes, Van Aert previewed a difficult day packed with climbs and a demanding final ascent with 10 kilometres to go. “I recovered well from yesterday’s stage. It was a very long day, but not that difficult. Fortunately, it was not super cold,” he said positively in his pre-stage reaction.
“I had already marked this stage earlier this week and this is one that should suit me. The finale is tough, with a few climbs. For some sprinters that may be a bit too hard, and then we end up on terrain that suits me,” said Van Aert, who then saw exactly that scenario unfold. Teammate Matteo Jorgenson did a huge turn on the final climb, which left only an elite group at the front.
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Van Aert calls Van der Poel ‘the strongest’
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Using Velon’s numbers, we can see that Van Aert — and almost certainly Van der Poel and Filippo Ganna as well — had to dig deep to stay with the lighter climbers on the final climb of one and a half kilometres. With an average of 590 watts on an average gradient of 9.1 percent, Van Aert was clearly in very good shape. That should roughly come down to 7.56 watts per kilogram.
Once over the top, however, a new race began, and according to Van Aert that was where he made a crucial mistake. “It is always difficult to sprint in a small group. I reacted too quickly to that late attack. That was where I had already done my sprint,” Van Aert told the Belgian media, referring to Christen’s move.
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The big question is whether Van Aert could really have changed the result if he had not chased Christen. The Belgian himself was not so sure. “Mathieu also started from a long way out. Nobody could get back onto his wheel after that. He was the strongest. You also have to be able to admit that.”
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Van Aert described it as “a super good race” from Visma | Lease a Bike, with Timo Kielich in the early breakaway, allowing the Belgian team to position their riders well ahead of the climb. Jorgenson then helped create the elite front group. “It is a pity we could not finish it off,” Van Aert concluded. “But yes, I am satisfied. It has been a good day.”
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Latest Comments
- It's a bit embarrassing that. Isn't the main sponsor supposed to keep them at 36.5 ?tomjacques03-03-2026
- They were close to cracking a very tired Tadej that wasn't fully focused on the TdF with a team of riders focused solely on cracking Tadej. And if they cracked him, he would have still won. Tadej won't be racing the giro this year. It'll be an even easier win for him.Veganpotter09-02-2026
- Nice!Bea22-01-2026
- Those events are mental rest for him. Fun, without expectations. *Sagan lost his abilities because he gained weight and got lazy. Pogi will likely retire before that has a chance at happening.Veganpotter14-12-2025
- Ah, the consequences of riding for Israel.Veganpotter11-12-2025
- Pidcock could follow everyone but Pogi while finishing 3rd. No second place rider this season😃Veganpotter16-11-2025
- Now the Palestinian protestors can stop their whining. Trump came to the rescue. So they can now STFU and go back to waving the rainbow flags.raufus15-10-2025
- Cracked the code lol. If it was that easy to 'crack the code' jonny Vegas would be charging up the Kwaremont giving Pog a dose of his medicine. Evenepoel can't match pog on a climb and neither can mvdp. Anything with a half difficult climb and Pog smashes the field. Even on flat(ish)parcours like Roubaix it came down to a mistake and crash by pog to definitively crown mvdp. MSR is the only one that Pog probably won't win.kevpt10-10-2025
- We've seen this movie before. I think Pogacar is doping.DeadBlow10-10-2025
- 👍Bea08-10-2025
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