Defending his leader’s jersey in the Tirreno-Adriatico: that is Wout van Aert’s goal in the coming days. The Belgian from Jumbo-Visma is in the lead after 3 stages with a small lead over Mathieu van der Poel, who won the 3rd stage for him in the sprint on Friday.
World champion Julian Alaphilippe and recognized climbers such as Mikel Landa and Tour winner Tadej Pogacar are also close in the rankings. “With that 2nd place I took bonus seconds again, but I would rather have won”, said Van Aert. “20 seconds on Pogacar seems too little for Saturday’s tough ride.”
‘Heavy task’
Van Aert is the leader of Jumbo-Visma in the Italian stage race. It remains to be seen how he survives Saturday’s tough stage with final climb to Prato di Tivo. “It will be a tough task to defend the leader’s jersey”, thinks the Belgian, who made an impression in the last Tour de France with his servant work uphill.
‘Ready to Fight’
“The tactic will be very simple,” says Van Aert. “I’m going to try to stick with it for as long as possible and when I get released I will fight for every second. It would be beyond all expectations if I can keep the jersey, but I’m ready to fight for it. Make Saturday night. We take stock and see what else is possible. ”
