'I look back with mixed feelings' - Van Aert reflects on Visma's Québec shortcoming
Wout van Aert returned to action in Canada for the first time since the Lidl Deutschland Tour over two weeks ago, and ended 14th in his second apperance at the Grand Prix de Québec, leaving the Belgian with mixed feelings
In a thrilling edition of the ever-increasingly prestigious Grand Prix de Québec, where Julian Alaphilippe rolled back the years with a trademark performance, Team Visma | Lease a Bike had to settle for 14th on the day with Wout van Aert and 16th with Tiesj Benoot.
When the race began to kick off around 80km from the finish, Visma were initially represented by Christophe Laporte, who was clocking only his eighth race day of the 2025 campaign. However, when the race-winning move went clear, featuring Alaphilippe, there was no representative from the Dutch team, who could be seen chasing at the front of the peloton for the following kilometres.
In the end, the peloton, with the help of Visma’s efforts, was unable to close the gap to the leaders with Alaphilippe exploding into action on the final ascent of the Côte de la Montagne, whilst Van Aert and Benoot had to settle for minor positions behind in the sprint for 8th, which was claimed by Arnaud De Lie (Lotto).
"We weren't positioned well enough once the finale began," Van Aert reflected afterwards in Visma's press release. "We couldn't follow the counterattacks, and the chase never really got organised. The plan was for Tiesj and me to save something for the last lap. Unfortunately, that didn't work out."
Van Aert admitted tactical errors cost the team dearly as the race developed. "We had to react a bit too early to neutralise attacks. By the final ascent of the climb, we were no longer riding for the win but just for a place of honour," he said.
Despite the outcome on the day, Van Aert was honest about his condition and was able to take the good and bad outcomes out of a tough day of racing."There was definitely more possible today, but I also have to admit that I simply didn't have the legs to win. I look back with mixed feelings."
With the World Championships on the horizon in Montréal, Canada, in 2026, the riders will get a taste of what they are in for on Sunday when they line up for the Grand Prix de Montréal, where defending champion Tadej Pogačar will line up, looking for vengeance after the World Champion missed out in Québec.
For Van Aert and Visma, it presents another opportunity to try and land a victory in the GP de Montréal for the first time since the inaugural edition in 2010, where Robert Gesink in the colours of Rabobank was victorious with a 10km solo effort. Van Aert was runner-up in Montréal back in 2022, in a small group sprint behind Pogačar.
