Wout van Aert won the points classification in the 2022 Tour de France, but he does not aspire to a second victory in this classification.
“Winning green was great and important to me, but the best thing in this sport is to cross the finish line first,” he says.
“The points classification sometimes gets in the way of stage victories. I don’t want to have to focus on the intermediate sprints from the start of the next Tour”, Van Aert explained.
Last year, his green ambitions did not stop him from winning stages. He achieved stage success no less than three times in the 2022 Tour. Moreover, he was of great value in the mountains to Jonas Vingegaard, who won the final classification.
“I am someone who likes to believe that there are almost no limits, but when it comes to last year’s Tour, the ambition should not be to do even better. That Tour was exceptional, I realize that and the team realizes that.”
The new Netflix series Tour de France: Unchained also pays attention to Van Aert’s performance in the 2022 Tour. In one of the episodes, there seems to be resentment between Van Aert and Vingegaard. The latter hoped that the Belgian would help him after a team attack in the stage to Calais, which Van Aert won after a solo.
“I was finally able to watch,” said Van Aert about the series. “Because strange, but true, although I play one of the leading roles, I did not know what would be seen. It is quite disturbing that stories were written in the documentary that were not there. For me, the series is focused on commotion. Jonas and I are best friends. The focus is on moments in which it is difficult to make the right choice, but there are also so many moments in which we have strengthened each other and worked together. It is a pity that it has been removed.”
