The Jumbo-Visma champion finally hits the target with a finisseur move. Persico finishes sixth
After Olav Kooij’s victories, Jumbo-Visma’s dominance at the Tour of Britain continues. This time it is Kooij who helps Wout Van Aert and not the other way around: at the bend, the Dutchman slows down and makes “the hole”, allowing van Aert to make the winning extension. With an impressive progression in the last 1000 metres, the Belgian breaks the curse of second places and only appears at the finish line in Felixstowe, 3 seconds ahead of Danny van Poppel and Ethan Vernon. Sixth place instead for Davide Persico, best result as a professional for the blue.
wout’s words
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“Obviously I’m very happy with how the stage went, it’s always complicated to do what I did today. Last night we saw the finish line and, a bit seriously and a bit for fun, we started to think that it would be possible to try to anticipate the sprint. I tried but initially I didn’t think I could do it, my companions encouraged me on the radio and when I looked behind me I realized I had managed to gain space and understood that the plan was succeeding, I pedaled to the finish line and then I rejoiced. In the end it was another great day for the team and I’m very proud of that” declared Van Aert, who in Great Britain is finding his smile again after too many bitter weeks. In 2023 alone he achieved seven second places.