Wout van Aert surprises on the last day in the Algarve: “If I were to reveal everything…”

Not much could happen for Remco Evenepoel to take the final win in the Algarve Tour on the final day. At least that's what people think. This was especially without Wout van Aert, who opted to go fully attacking.

Van Aert had previously declared that the cards were only as good as the shuffle, but he was still trying to change course. “If I reveal everything, my plans will not have much chance of succeeding,” he told Het Laatste Nieuws afterwards.

Van Aert eventually left the Tour of Algarve with a stage victory and seventh place in the final classification. And he can live with that. “We tried to play for surprise. That was the plan. We wanted to put pressure on the other teams and that worked well.”

Wout van Aert is ready for the Flemish opening weekend

He did not survive the final climb. Again this was food for lighter men. “The moment I attacked it looked good. In the end, the peloton approached quickly and then I deliberately left it to try something from the background. Unfortunately, that turned out to be no longer possible, but I am satisfied with this last day.

The opening weekend will be held next week, and this dress rehearsal has already been a great success for our citizen. “I was able to show myself this week in two difficult stages. The course was a bit difficult for me and I was not able to compete for the prizes, but it was beautiful.”