Van Aert experiences successful comeback in Tour of Norway, strong performance Lemmen
Leading up to the Norwegian stage race, many eyes were on Van Aert, who was at the start of a race for the first time since his crash in Dwars door Vlaanderen. The 29-year-old Belgian tempered expectations beforehand, hoping above all to build confidence for the remainder of the season. “My main goal is to test myself and see how I do in a race,” Van Aert said earlier.
In the first stage from Voss to Voss Resort, Van Aert had a successful comeback. On the final climb, the Belgian brought his teammates to the front and climbed with the best for a long time. Only at two kilometers from the finish he had to let go the reduced peloton. “I’m happy with today’s performance,” Van Aert responded afterwards. “On the bike I didn’t suffer from anything, so I hope I can recover well.”
“Of course I had hoped not to suffer, but that’s something I have to get through.”
Wout van Aert
Conditionally, Van Aert says he doesn’t feel like his old self yet. “I wanted to keep up with the guys at least until one and a half kilometers from the line, but I soon noticed I was on the limit. I felt at my lungs that I had gone deep. Of course I had hoped not to suffer, but that’s something I have to get through. A tougher stage awaits tomorrow and then we’ll see how long I can hold out.”
Lemmen competed for the stage win for a long time, but ultimately had to settle for fourth place. Thibau Nys won the stage. “I am very satisfied with this. I knew beforehand: if I reach my level, I should compete for the podium. After my collarbone fracture I just didn’t know if I would have the same top form as in the Tour Down Under and the UAE Tour. It was wait and see, but I felt good all day. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s stage already.”
/
Tour of Norway
Stage 1
Result
Rankings
Result
1
Thibau Nys
Lidl – Trek
03:21:34
2
Ådne Holter
Uno-X Mobility
+00:00:04
3
Axel Laurance
Alpecin – Deceuninck
+00:00:04
4
Bart Lemmen
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:00:06
17
Koen Bouwman
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:00:35
31
Tijmen Graat
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:00:56
57
Per Strand Hagenes
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:02:47
60
Wout van Aert
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:02:52
70
Menno Huising
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:04:25
Rankings
1
Thibau Nys
Lidl – Trek
03:21:24
2
Ådne Holter
Uno-X Mobility
+00:00:08
3
Axel Laurance
Alpecin – Deceuninck
+00:00:10
4
Bart Lemmen
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:00:16
17
Koen Bouwman
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:00:45
31
Tijmen Graat
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:01:06
57
Per Strand Hagenes
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:02:57
60
Wout van Aert
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:03:02
70
Menno Huising
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:04:35
Powered by Pro Cycling Stats
Subjects
Cycling – World Tour men
Wout van Aert
1
