Van Aert may have lacked energy after early effort, but Visma | Lease a Bike takes positives from performance

Visma | Lease a Bike took control of the race early on in support of Van Aert. Edoardo Affini did a lot of the work at the front, keeping the lead of the breakaway group under control, but on a climb 50 kilometers from the finish, UAE Team Emirates and INEOS Grenadiers took over. "It was tricky from the start, so my teammates worked hard to control it. We were surprised by INEOS in that hilly section, but then I ended up a bit behind."

Van Aert got into trouble and had to chase with Wilco Kelderman, but something else had happened. "Unfortunately, at one point, I missed a corner because of a rider in front of me. I was in a dangerous spot where riders were coming out of the corner. I didn't want to endanger anyone by jumping back on the road, but that made it very difficult to get back."

In the end, the Belgian rider rejoined the peloton in time, and Kelderman and Bart Lemmen had to work hard again to catch up with the breakaway riders Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek) and Romain Bardet (Picnic PostNL). They succeeded, so it was up to van Aert himself on Monte Berico. "It was a tough finish," Van Aert said, catching his breath. "It was a battle to the finish."

Pedersen started his sprint from relatively far back, but Van Aert could not pass him. "I'm really disappointed because I came so close. Mads came alongside me and I was able to keep up with his acceleration, but as usual, it was difficult to pass him. He's hard to beat, but I came close twice. I'll keep trying."

He went into more detail with Eurosport. "It's a cool finish I have to say. But Mads was just that little bit stronger, and the final didn't go perfectly for me, so I wasted a lot of energy with fifty kilometers to go. It's a bummer when you come so close."

According to Van Aert, it could have been even better, but IDLProCycling.com presented sports director Marc Reef with a positive statement. After all, anyone who takes Pedersen out of the equation has to conclude that van Aert already secured three stage wins in this phase of the Giro after his second places on days 1 and 13. Were all those questions about his fitness really fair? "We should be very happy with what Wout showed today. It was a superb sprint between two of the best riders at the moment."

"I think you're right and that Pedersen is perhaps in the form of his life," Reef agrees. "He takes a small step forward every year, of course, but he is super strong now. It was a beautiful and fair sprint, and it's a bummer that Wout just fell short. At first, you always feel slightly disappointed because you're so close, but you also have to be realistic. Both of them gave a superb performance and congratulations to Pedersen. That's just the way it is."

According to the sports director, Visma | Lease a Bike can continue with the form of its lead rider. "If you had said in the first few days of the Giro that Wout would win another stage and finish second here by half a wheel, no one would have believed you. We should be very happy with this, especially since Wout also played a big part in Olav's (Kooij, ed.) victory yesterday. We are delighted with where we are now, and Wout feels great. Hopefully, there will be another opportunity for him."

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