Van Aert sprints to first win of the season in Algarve

Wout van Aert has taken his first victory of the season at the Volta ao Algarve. The Belgian rider from Visma | Lease a Bike surprised many when he entered the bunch sprint and proved the fastest after an impressive acceleration

Van Aert's decision to challenge for the stage win on the third stage came as a surprise. The Belgian had previously announced that he wanted to save himself for the weekend and stay out of trouble. However, once the breakaway was caught and the sprint teams prepared for the bunch sprint, Van Aert changed his mind.

"I decided to go for the sprint with ten kilometres to go. The run-up to the sprint was safe, and I was well-positioned with the team after the final intermediate sprint. It was easy to stay in front, and the finish was slightly uphill, which suited me. I felt my legs were good, and I thought: I'd better go for it", Van Aert said.

"It's nice to start the season with a win. The Volta ao Algarve is a prestigious race, and it's not easy to win a sprint here. It gives me a lot of confidence." According to Van Aert, the sprint went his way. "I had to take a little risk. I was quite far back in the last kilometre, but I ended up in the slipstream of the guys who came into the wind too early."

With the win, Van Aert moved up in the general classification. The Belgian is seventh, 22 seconds behind Martinez, and with the time trial still to come, anything is possible. "I haven't touched my time trial bike all winter, so I don't expect much from it. Anyway, it will be tough to beat Remco Evenepoel, but of course, I'll do everything I can to have a good time trial."

VIDEO: 2024 Tour of the Algarve Stage 3 Highlights

2024 Tour of the Algarve Stage 3

1  VAN AERT Wout Team Visma | Lease a Bike 4:50:57
2  OLIVEIRA Rui UAE Team Emirates 0:00
3  MAYRHOFER Marius Tudor Pro Cycling Team 0:00
4  THIJSSEN Gerben Intermarché - Wanty 0:00
5  BISSEGGER Stefan EF Education - EasyPost 0:00
6  TILLER Rasmus Uno-X Mobility 0:00
7  STUYVEN Jasper Lidl - Trek 0:00
8  CORT Magnus Uno-X Mobility 0:00
9  FEDOROV Yevgeniy Astana Qazaqstan Team 0:00
10  MESA Santiago Efapel Cycling 0:00

2024 Tour of the Algarve GC after Stage 3

1  MARTÍNEZ Daniel Felipe - 9:32:19 -
2  EVENEPOEL Remco - 0:04 -
3  KUSS Sepp - 0:12 -
4  HIGUITA Sergio - 0:16 -
5  TRATNIK Jan - 0:18 -
6  GEOGHEGAN HART Tao - ,, -
7  PIDCOCK Thomas - ,, -
8  VAN AERT Wout up6 0:22 10''
9  ARENSMAN Thymen up1 0:23 -
10  LANDA Mikel up1 ,, -