Wout van Aert

'I was able to pull myself apart for Vingegaard' says Belgian.

"Jonas is super talented and it's incredible to see his progression over the years. Pogačar was perhaps limited by his crash on the descent of the Spandelles, but Vingegaard's superiority across this Tour has brooked no argument. It has been a dizzying four-year journey from the floor of a fish factory to the top of the podium on the Champs-Élysées. Then on the last climb, I tried to pull for as long as possible. "For me, that was the signal to go full-on today. Luckily, I was able to make it back with the help of Tiesj, who was in the break. Pogačar would come past him again a little further up the climb, but even a soft-pedalling Van Aert was fresh enough to stay clear of the rest. "After yesterday, it was good to realise that UAE were still there with a big objective," Van Aert said. Repeating that strategy, he suggested, was a direct response to UAE Team Emirates' offensive on stage 17, where Pogačar and Brandon McNulty had outnumbered Vingegaard on the final climb to Peyragudes. "It was really a crazy day for me. On Sunday, Jumbo-Visma will become the first team to ride into Paris with the yellow and green jerseys since Telekom did so with Jan Ullrich and Erik Zabel in 1997. A little under four hours later, Van Aert was still at the front.

From the cobbles in week one to the last major climb of the Tour, Wout van Aert has been integral in Jumbo-Visma realising their dream of a yellow and ...

And the best thing for Jumbo-Visma and Van Aert is that this Tour is not over yet. It was a win many blasted as irresponsible given it came on the eve of the GC test over the cobbles. Van Aert’s third place at Hautacam was his seventh podium finish since the start of the Tour after two wins and four runner-up spots. Van Aert is worth his weight in gold. Once he realised that the stage win was beyond him, Van Aert sat up and waited for his team leader. That final pull by Van Aert as the elastic snapped for Pogacar only tells half the story.

Green jersey Van Aert drops the climbers in Tour's mountain stage: 'It was a good test to know if I can target the maillot jaune one day.'

Had I known, I would have sprinted at the Aubisque!” he joked. On the last climb I pulled as long as possible,” Jumbo-Visma climber Sepp Kuss told reporters after he delivered Vingegaard up to Van Aert in the close of stage 18. To do during the whole Tour is another story.” Today we wanted him to be in the break, and I think you saw today that he attacked at kilometer zero, and went solo.“ “It was crazy … one of the most incredible days in my career. “We wanted to take time and we succeeded.

"It was a super fast stage, with a small possibility of crosswinds that pushed us to stay at the front. I felt good throughout the stage and kept Jonas ...

He works a lot for the team and he deserves it. Normally this would have been a sprint for me, but I was feeling a bit tired in the morning after all the efforts I did yesterday. We have been racing together a lot this season and I’ve seen firsthand how he can be strong on the flat and the lead-outs, but also in the mountains and the small climbs as he has showed these days.