'He's complaining about something that's not there' – Wout van Aert hits back at Tadej Pogačar's criticism of Visma's race tactics

UAE Team Emirate - XRG team's Slovenian rider Tadej Pogacar (L), Team Visma - Lease a bike team's Belgian rider Wout van Aert (2nd R) and Team Visma - Lease a bike team's Danish rider Jonas Vingegaard (R) cycle in the ascent of the Cote du Haut Pichot during the 2nd stage of the 112th edition of the Tour de France cycling race, 209.1 km between Lauwin-Planque and Boulogne-sur-Mer, Northern France, on July 6, 2025. (Photo by Loic VENANCE / AFP) (Photo by LOIC VENANCE/AFP via Getty Images).

Wout van Aert has hit back at the latest criticism from Tadej Pogačar, as the UAE-Visma Tour de France tactical tensions continued on the second rest day.

Pogačar and UAE are so far dominating the 2025 Tour de France, and the world champion leads Jonas Vingegaard by 4:13, but the two super teams are locked in a battle for the team classification at the Tour. There have been gestures of fair play, but they continue to compete out on the road and when discussing each other's tactics.