‘Perfection doesn’t exist’ - Van Aert closes old Vuelta wounds before turning to Worlds

There was a touch of confusion when Wout van Aert was called onto the podium in Granada for the first time.

He knew the green jersey was his. What he had not realised was that the Vuelta a España jury had also named him the race’s overall most combative rider.

“I only realised when I was standing on the podium,” Van Aert told Sporza. “I already thought it was strange that they started with the green jersey, but it turned out to be the super combativity prize.”

He smiled at the mix up.

“I won it in the Tour as well. It’s not the biggest prize, or the prize you start a race for, but of course it is something you can be proud of.”

A few minutes later came the podium appearance that mattered considerably more.

Van Aert had secured the points classification after three weeks in which Visma | Lease a Bike collected seven stage victories, with the Belgian himself playing a central role throughout the race.

For Van Aert, however, winning the green jersey meant more than the result itself.

Two years ago, he had been leading both the points and mountains classifications at the Vuelta when a heavy crash ended his race during the final week. A badly injured knee forced him out and led to a lengthy spell of recovery.

“That was one of the biggest disappointments of my career, because it left me with a serious injury,” Van Aert said.

“I’m very happy to be standing here in one piece and to be able to take this victory home.”

He reached Granada with plenty to reflect on, even if there was no final flourish on stage 21.

“It’s been an amazing Grand Tour and an amazing three weeks in Spain,” he told Eurosport after the finish. “A super nice finish as well, with a lot of people on the side of the road. It’s a good day.”

The finishing circuit around Granada turned into a fierce battle for the stage win, but Van Aert quickly realised he did not have the legs to play a decisive role.

“We have to admit that the tank was empty today,” he said. “Matthew was there, but I didn’t have the legs I had hoped for.”

“I could already feel that on the first climb. It’s a shame, because if I had been a little better I could have helped Matthew keep the group together. For my own chances, it definitely wasn’t there today.”

Teammate Matthew Brennan remained in contention deep into the finale, but the stage eventually went to Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility), who outsprinted Alessandro Romele (XDS Astana) to claim his first Grand Tour stage victory.

When the conversation turned to his favourite moment of the Vuelta, Van Aert initially struggled to settle on one.

Eventually, he chose stage 13, not simply because he had won, but because of the way he and Brennan used their numerical advantage in the breakaway.

“I wasn’t ready to choose one, actually,” he said.

“It’s not because I won myself, but I would say stage 13, where me and Matthew played out our numbers in the breakaway. That was so much harder than controlling the sprint stages, almost. That’s a memory that for sure will stick.”

It was a telling choice after a race in which Visma repeatedly found different ways to win.

With the World Championships in Montréal now two weeks away, Van Aert was keen to stress that Spain had been an objective in its own right.

“This wasn’t a preparation race,” he told Sporza. “This was a goal in itself and every day we tried to get everything we could out of it. The World Championships are coming, but until now our focus has obviously been on the Vuelta.”

Asked whether three weeks of racing had left him in perfect shape for the Worlds, Van Aert laughed.

“Perfection doesn’t exist.”

There was more optimism in what followed.

“I think in two weeks it’s already there,” he said. “Definitely have good legs and a big goal. We need to try and recover from this Vuelta and then we go for the Montréal.”

The immediate priority, however, is recovery. Van Aert plans to enjoy one final evening with his teammates in Granada before beginning the journey towards Canada. He told Sporza he will fly out on Tuesday.

He had not yet given much thought to whether he would spend a few days off the bike.

“I was only thinking about what we will do tonight,” he said, “and then we’ll see what happens tomorrow and so on.”