Belgian all-rounder Wout van Aert, a key teammate of Tour de France leader Jonas Vingegaard, left the race to be with his wife Sarah ahead of the birth of their second child.
Van Aert, a versatile cyclist capable of winning on all terrains, has been a fundamental support for Vingegaard since the start of the Tour. But with Vingegaard having opened up a large gap in the general classification with a tough mountain stage to go, Van Aert’s presence was not considered essential.
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Belgian Wout Van Aert climbs during the fifteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 179 kilometers (111 miles) starting in Les Gets Les Portes du Soleil and finishing in Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc, France, on Sunday July 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)
«As everyone knows Sarah is pregnant, things are starting to get a bit difficult at home,» Van Aert said in a video posted by his Jumbo-Visma team ahead of Stage 18 on Thursday. «In consultation with the team, we have decided that my place is now at home.»
Van Aert added that leaving the race is «a strange feeling, but it’s not a dilemma.»
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Dane Jonas Vingegaard, wearing the overall leader’s yellow jersey, follows his teammates Belgian Wout Van Aert, left, and American Sepp Kuss, second left, during the seventeenth stage of the cycling race of the Tour de France over 166 kilometers (103 miles) in Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc and ends in Courchevel, France on Wednesday, July 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)
Vingegaard, the defending champion, toppled Tadej Pogacar on the final big stage in the French Alps on Wednesday to increase his overall lead to 7 minutes 35 seconds. Barring one big crash, it looks like he’s going to win his second Tour title on Sunday.
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Belgian Wout Van Aert climbs as Mont Blanc looms in the background during the sixteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race, an individual time trial over 22.5 kilometers (14 miles) starting in Passy and finishing in Combloux, France, Tuesday. July 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Van Aert has nine career stage wins on the Tour, but none this month.
«I often had the legs to win a stage, but it didn’t happen,» he said. «But I will always remember this Tour as the one where I called home every day.»