Cycling - La Vuelta 2024 - Wout van Aert : "With my two boys on the podium... I will remember it for a long time"
Splendide Wout Van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike) ! Déjà vainqueur par deux fois, le Belge a signé son 3e succès de La Vuelta en remportant la 10e étape ce mardi. Van Aert s'est glissé dans une échappée de 5 coureurs en début d'étape. Il a ensuite parfaitement joué le coup en attaquant lorsque Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates), le coureur le plus dangereux à l'avant, prenait un bidon. Il a ensuite fait le trou avec Quentin Pacher (Groupama-FDJ) dans la dernière ascension avant de facilement le dominer au sprint.
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00:00Yeah, it's not too often that I can win when they visit me on the race, so yeah, it makes
00:20it extra special and a really nice one to do with the day.
00:25Did you have that in mind when the race was very active from the gun?
00:29Yeah, it was really my aim to be in the breakaway, but I had a hard time on the first climb and
00:36actually when I almost gave up, I gave one more try just before the top, but still then
00:44I think for 50 kilometres we really needed to fight to get a bit of a gap.
00:50To be honest, I think it wasn't my favourite because in the final, the climbers I had in
00:54the group, they had maybe less fresh legs and that's how I won.
01:01This is not your victory number 50 yet, but you're getting close to it.
01:06When will it be?
01:07Attila Valterre this morning said any stage is a world-renowned stage.
01:13That's a bit exaggerated I would say, but it's nice in a race like this that you have
01:21a versatile profile and when I end up in a situation like this, I always have a chance
01:28and it's a very cool victory.
01:33You are also very close to being the king of the mountain, are you looking for that?
01:37No, to be honest it's a real coincidence, but if you're only with five in the front
01:43then you take obviously some points, but for sure my eyes are really on the green jersey
01:49and not at all on the mountain jersey.
01:52Tell us the feeling, not only about winning, but having your family for kisses and hugs
01:58right at the middle.
02:01It's amazing to have them here.
02:04They visit me quite a lot of times at the races, but somehow it never really works out
02:10to win when they are really there, or never, not much.
02:15It's extra special to do today because they came to this area because it wasn't a good
02:22period for them, but actually the stages were not really a perfect match for me, so I knew
02:27I needed also a bit of luck to win this day and I will remember it for a long time because
02:37I could take my two boys on the podium.
02:40How good is it for you?
02:42How much do you like to go for the victory in different scenarios?
02:47I mean, do you enjoy to go for the time trials, the sprints, but also in the hill stages?
02:52Yeah, that's exactly what I really love about cycling and about my capacities.
02:59Sprint is exciting because it builds up the tension.
03:03Time trials is more about the preparation and all the details.
03:08A day like today is more about pure racing, sensing a bit how your opponents are doing,
03:14making a plan to attack in the final.
03:18That's more to the basics, what you learn as a young man in the youth category.
03:24Also, like today, I love it.
03:27You were pure dynamite from the start.
03:31They were suffering behind, as Robert Gestik told us.
03:34Were you concerned at some point about your mates in the breakaway?
03:40Yeah, I was concerned all the time.
03:43First on the climb, I did a huge effort just before the climb actually,
03:48so I suffered a lot to hang on there.
03:50And then when I gave it a last try, basically just before the top,
03:55we ended up in the break with a few strong guys,
03:58but I guess for 50 kilometers or something we were fighting to get a decent gap.
04:03Already there, I knew if they come back one more time, then my race is over.
04:08At the moment when we finally got freedom from the bunch,
04:12I think everybody in the front was also quite tired.
04:16That was maybe in my advantage, because the first two climbs we stick together.
04:22If it's one really hard climb, then I have a chance.
04:26We saw you on television teaching your kid how to count 1, 2, 3.
04:31How many numbers do you expect to teach him?
04:36Unfortunately, he can already count up to 20,
04:40so for sure it will not be possible to make it to that number.
04:49I think it's been really amazing to have three stage wins already in the first ten stages.
04:57If it stays with three, I'm also happy.
05:02But for sure, with his legs and the team I have around,
05:05we try to go for a few more opportunities.
05:10For sure, we came to this race to try and win stages.
05:18And also go for the green jersey.
05:21Also try to have a chance of wearing the red jersey in the beginning.
05:26So far, we ticked all the boxes.
05:31For green, it's also a really good step today,
05:35with taking both intermediate and the maximum of the points on the finish line.
05:41It was definitely the team goal to achieve this.
05:47It's really cool to have three stage wins already on stage ten.
05:52In the breakaway, you were the main favourite.
05:57Were you sure that you had the opportunity to win the stage,
06:01because you were the main contender there?
06:05Not at all.
06:07First of all, it was a really hard fight to get in the breakaway.
06:11A hard fight for us five to have some freedom for the bunch.
06:15Once we were there,
06:19there were a few light guys like Lasse from Quick-Step
06:25and also Soler, a really strong rider, of course.
06:29So I was never sure if I could win from that situation.
06:35But I knew they would look to me as the favourite.
06:39They would try to drop me on the final climb.
06:41So it was always my plan to try something even before,
06:46to have maybe a bit of advantage.
06:51That was a good tactic.
06:53Once I was up the road with Pache, I had a really good companion
06:57and we worked really well together.
07:01Like that, I created a good situation for myself.