Belgian rider Wout Van Aert celebrated his third stage win at the 79th Vuelta a España cycle race in Galicia on Tuesday.
The Antwerp local outperformed Quentin Pacher of Groupama-FDJ, his final breakaway companion, clinching his 10th stage victory in front of his wife and two children.
“It’s not often that I can win a race when my family is visiting. It’s very special and truly enjoyable,” an ecstatic Aert said in an interview. "It was really my goal to be in the breakaway but I struggled on the first climb," he added. "I almost gave up, but I tried again one last time just before the summit."
"We had to fight for 50 kilometres to open up a small gap," the Visma-Lease a Bike rider said. "To be honest, I think that worked in my favour because at the end, the climbers in my group lacked freshness and that's how I won."
Van Aert’s latest triumph gives him a substantial lead in the green-jersey individual ranking and elevates him to second place for the polka-dot jersey for best climber. However, the best climber title is not his aim. His sights are set on the points jersey and additional stage victories in the second half of the Vuelta.
“It’s good to compete in a multi-faceted race like this. Being in such a situation always creates a probability of victory. It’s a very pleasant win,” the 29-year-old, who now has 49 career wins, commented.
“Three victories in ten stages, it’s truly incredible," he said. "I arrived here with three objectives: to win stages, clinch the green jersey and have a chance of riding in the red jersey. I made excellent progress towards the green jersey today, and the rest has been achieved.”
Although happy with his wins, Aert, backed by his supportive team, stressed that he would be striving for more victories.
