Van Aert: "I had no confidence in myself."

Wout van Aert admitted he underestimated himself at the end of a challenging but ultimately bittersweet day at the Vuelta a España . The Paris-Roubaix champion ended up in the day's breakaway during the Category 1 stage finish in Aramón Valdelinares, even managing to squeeze into the five-man group that battled for victory on the final climb.

Van Aert had achieved his primary goal of 20 points at the intermediate sprint with 25 km to go, but he then rode so well on the final climb that he left a hint of regret behind. In the end, the Belgian was literally outmaneuvered by two more accomplished climbers, who also had the tactical advantage of wearing the same Uno-X jersey: Andreas Leknessund sprinted solo to the stage win, while Tobias Halland Johannessen shadowed Van Aert for a long time before taking the lead in the finale.

"Honestly, I regret a little not having had confidence in myself for the last climb," Van Aert said, responding to those who pointed out how much work and energy he had expended in leading the breakaway. "During the day, I thought it would be nice to take the points in the intermediate sprint and then have the widest possible margin for a top-five finish on the stage—I'd been nurturing that idea for a while. But then on the last climb, I saw that many of the others were tired too, so maybe I should have played it smarter, but that's also my nature, I think." When asked directly whether he had underestimated himself, his answer was a blunt: "Yes."

Green Consolation

There is, however, one consolation for Van Aert: the green jersey . The Belgian had already worn it on stage 7—or rather, the green overalls—but it was 'on loan' from Pogačar, who was leading the points classification but prioritizes the red leader's jersey. Van Aert earned 20 points in the intermediate sprint 25 km from the finish and another 15 for third place on the stage, bringing his total to 104 points, two points ahead of Pogačar.

"I hope it doesn't require as much energy every day as this stage, but the Vuelta also requires climber's legs to compete in the points classification, so if you have the legs, then you race," Van Aert explained about his challenge for the green.

Competition, however, also comes from within his own team: Matthew Brennan , winner of two stages so far, is third in the points classification, albeit a bit further back with 60 points. Brennan has been Visma's man of choice for bunch and small sprints so far, so he has the potential to rack up a substantial amount of points if he continues to win stages.

At the start of the stage, Pogačar had suggested that Visma should decide who to field as their main rival for the green flag, but it now seems clear that this will be up to Van Aert, who has so far been happy to push Brennan into the sprints.