Wout van Aert has won the third stage of the Vuelta a Espana, his his first victory since Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne in February.
Van Aert enjoyed first wearing the leader’s jersey and then winning, but he realises that he had to wait a long time before he could cross the finish line cheering again.
“It was worth being patient. It took a long time to put my hands in the air again, but this feels really good”, he opens.
In the previous day’s stage, the Belgian had to acknowledge the superiority of Kaden Groves. The rider of Alpecin-Deceuninck sprinted to victory from Van Aert’s wheel during the second stage.
“Today the plan was to do it the other way around. I would follow him, but use my strength by starting early”, Van Aert explains.
“I think I surprised him by starting with 200 meters to go. It was a bit of a slowdown, but it went very fast. Actually a perfect sprint for me”, says Van Aert.
Despite the fact that the red jersey holder was unable to achieve a victory for a long time, he did not become insecure.
“I was very confident. I felt good during the stage yesterday, and today it was even warmer. But we were in control with the team all day. They put me in the right position and luckily I was able to finish it off.”
