It is Van Aert’s third win of the season. He previously won a mass sprint and the time trial in the Dauphiné. Van Aert’s victory is win number thirty-three for Team Jumbo-Visma. This equals the number of wins in 2018 for the team of Richard Plugge.

Along the way, Van Aert was not sure of the victory. “Mathieu Heijboer coached me well. He said I was in the lead, but it was a game of seconds and I had to keep going. He did not reassure me and I had to fight until the finish. I had started to become enthusiastic about the championship in the last few weeks. This jersey has a lot of value now, because there was a strong field of participants. I am very happy that I was able to win today. I now have everything I need to perform at top level: good legs, top material and top guidance.”

“After the classics, we started to train the time trial with Wout”, said Heijboer, head of performance of the Dutch formation. “We knew that he has a lot of potential as a time trial rider. He has been tested extensively to fine-tune his position on the bike, which resulted in a faster time trial. In addition, Wout has trained a lot on the time trial bike. When he won the time trial in the Dauphiné, we knew that he had a good chance to win today. This was his main goal for the month of June and it is great that he succeeded. Over the years, we have created a culture within the team in which time trial is very important. Every rider who wants to invest in this discipline can expect the best guidance from us, for example in the field of aerodynamics and nutrition. This victory, just like Jos’s victory of yesterday, is the result of years of investing in the time trial within our team.”