Wout van Aert's dream of an immediate return to the leader's red jersey in the Vuelta a España on his return to the race failed to materialize on Saturday despite the Belgian putting in a serious effort on the technically demanding time trial course through Monaco.
Two years ago on the opening TT in Lisbon, his last participation in the Vuelta, Van Aert fell three seconds short of winner Brandon McNulty. This time he had to settle for eighth, nine seconds back, behind McNulty's team leader at UAE, top Vuelta favourite Tadej Pogačar.
