Wout van Aert became only the third rider in history to win the Tour of Britain twice after withstanding multiple attacks in Sunday’s dramatic final stage in South Wales.
The Jumbo-Visma rider finished second in Caerphilly, 11 seconds behind stage winner Carlos Rodriguez (INEOS Grenadiers), who at one point looked set to wrestle victory away from him at the death.
Having previously claimed overall victory in the race in 2021, van Aert joins Edvald Boasson Hagen (2009 and 2015) and Lars Boom (2011 and 2017) as a two-time Tour of Britain champion.
The Belgian won the race by three seconds over Tobias Johannessen (Uno-X), Damien Howson (Q36.5), and Magnus Sheffield (INEOS ).
“It feels great,” said van Aert. “We’ve had such an amazing week as a team, starting off with five stage wins in a row, which is pretty incredible. From then on there was a lot of pressure on us in this race, but we managed to control every stage basically. So I’m super proud, especially to finish off that teamwork.
“It was a super tough stage and, with the course this year, the weekend was really decisive. Se went all in for the GC. Today the climbs were a bit longer, which is tricky for me especially compared with riders like [Carlos] Rodriguez and [Stevie] Williams, who are 20kg lighter than me. I had to stay calm and trust my team-mates. I really had to think a lot in that final.”
CARLOS RODRIGUEZ WINS STAGE EIGHT IN CAERPHILLY ???????
What a stunning ride by the @INEOSGrenadiers star in South Wales! #TourOfBritain ??⚪ #TaithBrydain pic.twitter.com/5U8Er79R5a
— The Tour of Britain ?? (@TourofBritain) September 10, 2023
