'You ride with everyone except me': Van Aert teases Pogačar after Vuelta finale

Wout van Aert was part of a carefully planned Visma | Lease a Bike strategy on Sunday, with the Dutch team taking control of the finale of stage 2 of the Vuelta a España and ultimately winning through Matthew Brennan. Van Aert himself also appeared to have a chance of taking the victory, but for his late attack to succeed, he could have done with some cooperation from Tadej Pogačar. The UAE Team Emirates-XRG leader, however, remained conspicuously passive after making his way across to the Belgian.

The second stage of the Vuelta a España had looked for a long time as though it might become a dream day for Ethan Hayter. The Briton of Soudal Quick-Step had lost Saturday's opening time trial to Pogačar by just nine hundredths of a second, but hit back a day later by collecting bonus seconds on the road and briefly putting himself virtually into the red leader's jersey. Visma | Lease a Bike eventually spoiled those plans in the finale, however, as the race exploded on the run into Manosque.

With two kilometres remaining, Van Aert launched a huge acceleration on a short rise, and as Brennan later explained, that had been part of Visma's plan. The Belgian went so hard that only Pogačar was capable of closing the gap, and even the world champion had to make a major effort to get back onto Van Aert's wheel. It looked like an excellent situation for both riders, but when Van Aert glanced around and asked Pogačar to take a turn, there was no response from the Slovenian. Brennan would ultimately profit from the tactical stand-off and win the stage.

"It was really all-in for the stage win," Pogačar explained afterwards. He had been slightly late to react when Van Aert accelerated and was forced to dig deep to close the gap. Once he finally reached the Belgian, however, another problem presented itself: Brennan was still waiting behind. Pogačar admitted that he probably should have committed to the move if he wanted the best possible chance of winning, but with a fast Visma rider sitting in the chasing group, he was unsure what to do. "I should have committed," the Slovenian acknowledged afterwards.

Those were precisely the words Van Aert turned into a light-hearted little dig at Pogačar when the pair met and embraced after the finish. "You ride with everyone except me," the Belgian joked with a smile, according to HLN. Pogačar clearly felt an apology was appropriate and told his rival that he was sorry and should have continued working with him. There appeared to be no genuine frustration between the two stars, with the exchange very much taking place in good humour.

The UAE Team Emirates-XRG superstar then went one step further when Georges, Van Aert's eldest son, came over to see his father and spotted Pogačar. The Slovenian first asked Georges for a high five before handing his red cycling glasses to Van Aert junior as a gift. Dad Wout watched the exchange approvingly as his son received a memorable souvenir from the Vuelta leader. Shortly afterwards, Eurosport arrived with a microphone to get Van Aert's quick assessment of what had happened during the explosive finale.

Van Aert explained that the late attack had been planned and that, after opening a small gap over Pogačar, he had briefly waited over the top in the hope the Slovenian would help drive the move. When it became clear Pogačar was not going to take a turn, Van Aert knew Visma still had Brennan behind for the sprint. In the end, the strategy worked perfectly. Van Aert said he was proud of his teammates and once again praised Brennan's strength, adding that the Briton's victory was almost a natural continuation of everything he has already shown at such a young age.