'I smelled the moment' - Van Aert's surprise move leads to second Vuelta win

Two years after scorching to a bunch sprint victory in Córdoba on the Vuelta a España, Wout van Aert found a different way to win in the shadow of the Mezquita. 

The Belgian sparked the winning move of five riders with a canny attack with a little over 30km to go, and after controlling the group all the way to Córdoba, he outkicked them to claim his second win of this Vuelta. 

“I think after this one I never come back because I will not hold on to this statistic,” Van Aert joked when reminded of his 100% record in Córdoba. “Maybe I come back for holidays.”

Stage 15 of the Vuelta was shortened to just over 100km following the application of the extreme weather protocol, and Visma | Lease a Bike took a controlling interest in the bunch for much of the stage on behalf of sprinter Matthew Brennan.

But the rugged terrain meant that a bunch finish was not guaranteed, and so Van Aert seized the initiative with his attack in the finale.

“We tried to surprise the bunch,” he said. “We took control the whole day and we were still there with a few strong guys to help us, but I knew people would not expect that we would choose the attack. I smelled the moment there on the intermediate sprint. With Matthew behind, there was no risk at all to give it a try because we always had a good option in the bunch. That was how I like to race.”

Van Aert found himself with compatriots Thibau Nys (Lidl-Trek) and Ramses Debruyne (Alpecin-Premier Tech) for company in the front group, as well as Andreas Leknessund (Uno-X Mobility) and the impressive Alessandro Romele (XDS-Astana).

Leknessund made several attempts to clip away in the final 3km, but Van Aert swiftly snuffed out each one before outstripping Romele and Nys in the five-up sprint.

“It was a bit difficult,” Van Aert said. “My Belgian companions, they were really strong and helped very well, also Romele from Astana. I think Leknessund, he gambled a bit for his teammate and was in the back. We kind of expected an attack from him but they started up quite late so in the last few kilometres I just wanted to keep it together and make sure it was a sprint.”

Van Aert’s second stage win of the Vuelta sees him buttress his lead in the points classification still further. He now holds a lead of 108 points over his teammate Brennan, who has himself clocked up a hat-trick of stage wins on the Vuelta.

“It’s amazing,” Van Aert said. “Most of the days that we thought we were able to win, we won actually, so that’s pretty impressive. On a stage like today, how we took control as a team is something to be really proud of. I have to be very grateful for the work of the boys again.”