Van Aert expects Visma’s success to come with a price on stage 17

Visma arrive at the start having already won six stages at this Vuelta, four through Matthew Brennan and two through Van Aert. Their success has inevitably changed the dynamic of the race, and Van Aert knows rival teams will be reluctant to do their work for them.

“It is easier for the peloton to keep the speed high and harder for a breakaway to stay ahead on a stage like this,” Van Aert told Sporza before the start.

There is, however, one possible drawback for Visma. “We perhaps have a team that is better suited to slightly harder terrain,” he added.

That should not stop the Dutch team from chasing another sprint opportunity. Van Aert believes there are enough teams with an interest in bringing the race back together, provided the right move is allowed up the road.

“If we can let the right breakaway go, support will come from other teams,” he said. “It is the final chance for the other sprinters as well, even if Matthew might be difficult to beat. At the start of the stage, everyone will mainly be looking at us.”

There is good reason for that.

Brennan claimed his fourth victory of the Vuelta on Tuesday after another imposing lead out from Van Aert, taking Visma’s tally to six stage wins. The pair have become one of the defining combinations of the race, although Van Aert was quick to joke about the increasingly lopsided scoreline between them.

“It is 4 to 2 between Matthew and me now,” he told Sporza after the finish. “Obviously it is unfair because he has such a good lead out. I always have to do it on my own.”

The joke came after another near perfect execution from Visma. Brennan stayed on Van Aert’s wheel through a chaotic finale before the Belgian delivered him into position for the sprint.

“I trusted Wout and followed his wheel the whole time,” Brennan said. “It is incredible that he can put you in such a perfect position.”

Brennan went as far as admitting that the support around him has significantly shifted the odds in his favour.

“One against one, some of these guys could definitely beat me here,” he said. “Guys like Merlier and Magnier would probably beat me eight times out of ten. Those odds change completely because of the way your teammates support you.”

That support has extended well beyond the final kilometre. Van Aert spent part of Tuesday’s stage carrying bottles back to his teammates in the heat, something he dismissed as an entirely normal part of racing.

“I think that is obvious,” Van Aert said. “It happens hundreds of times every day. There are plenty of riders who do it hundreds of times more than I do in their careers and they are never shown on television.”

With Visma down to six riders, Van Aert argued that there was little sense in sending one of the team’s lighter climbers back to the cars.

“Five bottles on my back or on Sepp Kuss’ back makes a big difference,” he said with a smile. “The advantage of only having six riders is that you only have five teammates.”

The mood inside Visma reflects a Vuelta that has surpassed even their own expectations. Brennan said the original ambition had been to win a single stage. They now have six, with stage 17 presenting another obvious chance. A seventh victory would also set a new team record for stage wins at a Grand Tour, surpassing the six they claimed at the 2022 Tour de France.

Van Aert also has Thursday’s long, flat time trial in mind, but he insists there will be no conserving energy with another stage win available first.

“Our goal today is simply to win the stage,” he said. “Only after that will we think about tomorrow.”

For the rest of the peloton, that means solving a problem that has become increasingly familiar during this Vuelta: how to stop Van Aert from delivering Brennan exactly where he wants to be.