'I’m not frustrated, I realise I have to be patient,' Wout Van Aert on Tour de France game plan
It's been a relatively low-key start to the Tour de France for the Belgian star, but he remains confident that he will become more prevalent as the race goes on.

We have become accustomed over the years to seeing Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike) battle it out for victories in individual time trials in the biggest races such as the Tour de France, and in his career so far, the Belgian has taken two Tour stage wins in the discipline as well as three national titles. However, on Wednesday's 33-kilometre effort in Caen, Van Aert deliberately took things easy, finishing 100th on the stage, 4:32 behind stage winner Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) and choosing to conserve as much energy as possible for what is to come.
After being a key teammate in Simon Yates's Giro d'Italia victory, Van Aert suffered from an illness that ruled him out of the Belgian championships a week before the Tour, and naturally, he is managing his health and expectations accordingly, but stated to reporters post stage 5 that, "I'm optimistic and I still see opportunities for a stage win every week."
"I'm not frustrated, and I realise I have to be patient," Van Aert said to reporters, including Het Laaste Nieuws post stage 5. "Although I felt healthy when the Tour started, I may have lost a little bit of my fitness due to the illness during the Belgian Championship weekend. On Tuesday, I did notice I'd made a step forward, and I feel like I'm getting better and better."
The Visma | Lease a Bike rider revealed that it was planned for him to take things 'steady' in the time trial on Wednesday, as he would have had to adjust his pre-Tour plans to be able to be competitive in the time trial, but this would take away from his preparations for the rest of the race.
"In such a specific discipline as the time trial, you have to be well prepared, and I haven't trained for it lately. So I'd rather concentrate on the coming days, it wasn't necessary to ride this time trial at full speed," Van Aert explained. "To be ready for what's to come. I don't think my preparation would have given me a chance against the fastest riders on such a course. Remco was the big favourite on such a fast and flat time trial."
As a nine-time stage winner at the Tour de France, Van Aert knows what it takes to win on the biggest stage in France, and with a recent stage win at the Giro d'Italia also, the Belgian remains hopeful that he will get better as the race goes on and his chances of a stage win will increase.
"I'm optimistic and expect that my patience will translate into a real chance for success in one of the next few days. My chances usually improve as a Grand Tour progresses and the rest of the peloton becomes more tired," Van Aert said.
Stage 6's hilly route, which features over 3,000 metres of elevation gain and an explosive finish in Vire Normandie, could suit someone like Van Aert if he finds his best legs and gets into a breakaway, however the Belgian remains pessimistic about his chances with the GC riders having already come to the fore on stages 2 and 4.
"That's mainly up to the GC riders; if they want to give it their all, riders like me will have to acknowledge their superiority on such a course," Van Aert said.