Third (2’51” from Dane Jonas Vingegaard and 1’13” from Slovenian Tadej Pogacar) of the 16th stage of the Tour de France, the 22.4 km time trial drawn this Tuesday between Passy and Combloux, the Belgian Wout Van Aert (Jumbo Visma) yet accustomed to amazing performances could not hide his surprise at the widening gaps.
“It’s crazy how fast Jonas (Vingegaard) was. After the past stages, I did not expect such a gap with me and Tadej (Pogacar). (How to explain it?) He’s so strong in the time trial. He has really improved a lot in recent years. It is an advantage for him that the time trial is so hard and at the end of the Tour. Not changing bikes was the right tactic. Me ? I am the best of normal people. So I’m happy. It is impossible to understand such discrepancies. Finally yes, it is possible. These two are so above everyone.”
