CYCLING: The miscalculation was this time the leader, not the team

Second frustration in two days for Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) at the Dauphiné, and this time at his own risk. If on Monday his team made a mistake in the calculation when it came to neutralizing the leak invalidating his first place in the sprint from behind, yesterday it was the Belgian champion who did not measure well, leaving an embarrassing photo for history. So convinced was he that he was winning the select Chastreix-Sancy sprint that he raised his arms in victory. Released from his hands, from the heights of complacency, he found that David Gaudu (Groupama) slipped away from him to the right. He understood instantly. Before putting his hands on the handlebars again, he transformed the gesture of celebration into lament. He didn’t need photo-finish.

He won the inaugural stage on Sunday, and could have been full of victories at this point if there had not been a team error and a personal mistake, so the leadership he regained yesterday, the first high-altitude finish, did not console. Even Jonas Vingegaard, with stripes already as the leader of the Dutch team, put himself at the service of the Belgian so that what happened the day before would not happen. The second classified in the last Tour de France led the group of chosen in the last two kilometers to guarantee a group arrival. So internalized was Van Aert’s outcome that he betrayed the winning gesture.

Today, time trial of 32 key kilometers for the general.