'I chased too early' - Van Aert admits to tactical slip in tense Tirreno finale

Visma | Lease a Bike stretched out the peloton on the run-in to the final climb up Tortoreto with Timo Kielich, before Matteo Jorgenson set a vicious tempo, with Van Aert primed in his American teammate's wheel. The Belgian praised the textbook work of his teammates in the finale of the stage.

"We rode a super-good race. [Timo] Kielich was very attentive at the front. He played a crucial role in putting us at the front on the climb,” Van Aert told Sporza at the finish. “When you have someone like Jorgenson to thin out the bunch, you know not many can follow. It's a shame we couldn't finish it off."

Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), who led the GC, launched an attack with just under 100 metres to the top of the climb, with just over 12km of the stage remaining. Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech) was first to respond before Jorgenson and Van Aert latched onto the wheels also. It was an important moment in the race, where Van Aert had to dig deep. 

“It was just a countdown. For me, it was just over the limit. I know it's necessary to get rid of the fastest men, but riders like Mathieu and Ganna were still there. They're hard to beat,” said Van Aert.

Following the descent and a flat run-in, a group of fourteen formed at the front, composed of riders with different objectives, whether that be for the stage win or to gain time in GC. 

Visma had both objectives with Van Aert and Jorgenson present, and the American contributed the majority of the pace setting to try and keep a lid on any attacks. Jorgenson even briefly had some daylight from the group with 4.5km to go, but he was quickly closed down by Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost).

Ultimately, an attack from Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) under the flamme rouge forced Van Aert into making a decision, and the Belgian instantly responded, putting his nose in the wind, and expending plenty of energy with Van der Poel locked on his wheel. 

"It's always difficult to sprint in a small group. I reacted too quickly to that late attack. I'd already done my sprint,” explained Van Aert. 

After closing that gap, Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) tried his luck, and once more Van Aert was the first rider to try and close the gap, with the Belgian ultimately admitting that these efforts were essentially a sprint, before the actual sprint finish, where Van der Poel romped to an emphatic sprint victory. Van Aert simply conceded defeat to the rider he believes was the strongest rider in the group.

"Mathieu van der Poel also attacked from far away. Behind him, no one touched his wheel. He was the strongest. You have to admit that."

In the end, it was to be 5th on the day for Van Aert, and whilst not the result he would have hoped for, it’s another positive indication of a return to form ahead of his major goals on the cobbles.  "But yeah, I'm satisfied. It was a good day," said the Belgian, with his teammate Jorgenson moving up to 4th in the GC, 34 seconds behind new race leader Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe).