Wout van Aert circled the stage in red and appreciated Jonas Vingegaard’s chances.

Wout van Aert looks back with satisfaction on last Sunday’s cobbled stage, in which he made a good turn and led leader Jonas Vingegaard and the other favourites safely to the finish in Troyes.concrete legs‘He had previously been in the Tour de France not being there on Sunday, and that Visma rider | Lease a Bike looks forward to the second week of the Tour with great confidence.

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Van Aert has a number of rides in mind, including Wednesday’s trip to Le Lioran. “This is a tough stage in the Massif Central. The plan was always to go for stage wins when the legs are there, but in the first week we had to adjust those plans every now and then. I hope I can do it in the second week,” the Belgian told the press on the first rest day.

The Visma rider | Rent a bike seems more relaxed than he was a few days ago when he criticized his legs. “I felt good again on Sunday, I was able to contribute to the team again,” he continued. “So I was satisfied. We performed well as a team and achieved our goal.”

His leader Vingegaard was also discussed on Monday morning. The Dane only has to work again on Saturday in the Pyrenees, and Van Aert still believes he will be honoured as the overall winner in just two weeks. “He still has a good chance. We are trying to keep him close to his rivals and limit the losses. He is still leading the team as we know him.”