Belgian cycling star Wout van Aert left the Tour de France before the start of stage 18 on Thursday. This was announced by his team Jumbo-Visma on Twitter. The reason for this is the upcoming birth of his second child – van Aert had announced a possible exit from the Tour of France for this reason before the start of the race.
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“It’s getting a little tight. In consultation with the team, we have decided that my place is now at home,” said van Aert in one Video interview with the team: “It is not a dilemma. I’ve always said that I’ll go home if my wife needs me.” And further: “The doctor says that the birth is imminent. That’s why I made this decision,” said the 28-year-old. It was an easy decision.
“Everything is good”
The world-class all-rounder put in a strong performance this year as an assistant to captain Jonas Vingegaard. “The other seven guys will do well for the rest of the tour, it’s all good,” said van Aert.
Van Aert had won the green jersey and three stages at the 2021 Tour. In that year he placed himself entirely at the service of Vingegaard. Despite great efforts, the multiple cross-country world champion was unable to achieve a stage success of his own. Two second and two third places are in van Aert’s statistics.
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The Jumbo Visma team should be able to manage the final four stages without the strong Belgian. Vingegaard’s lead in the general classification is 7:35 minutes over Slovenia’s Tadej Pogacar.
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