Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) showed his more humorous side after his second-place finish in the sprint in Laval, joking with journalists: 'Next time I go for the sprint, I'll announce it on Twitter.'

The Belgian champion had in fact declared at the start that he would not take part in the final sprint, only to completely contradict himself three hours and fifty minutes later, when his characteristic silver Red Bull helmet appeared in the chaos of the final sprint, finishing behind Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek).

It was the Van Aert of his best days, perfectly navigating the wheels independently and finding the ideal position behind the Italian sprinter, even if he couldn't find the momentum to overtake him in the finale. "It was a clean sprint, with a worthy winner," Van Aert commented to the Flemish media. "It was a difficult sprint with uphill sections, I wanted to give it a try and I came close. I'm definitely satisfied; my legs were good yesterday and they were again today."

The Visma-Lease a Bike rider then joked about his 'surprise' participation in the sprint: 'Next time I'll announce it in advance on Twitter, even if I'm not sure I still remember the password,' he said, to laughter from the journalists present.

Visma team's chief technical officer, Grischa Niermann, was more blunt on the matter: 'Wout was planning to sprint today, but he wasn't obligated to tell you in advance.'

What really matters is that Van Aert's condition is improving in this Tour, despite the health problems that have affected his approach to the race. This is also an important sign in terms of supporting Jonas Vingegaard in the general classification, considering that the Belgian is universally recognized as one of the best domestiques in modern cycling.