Before Sunday’s Giro d’Italia stage nine, Wout van Aert had won 49 races on the road in an already illustrious career, not to mention success in cyclo-cross. The Belgian is the man who won a sprint, a mountain stage, and a time trial all at the same Tour de France, the winner of the green jersey at the same race, a domestique de luxe for Jonas Vingegaard at times. It’s difficult to think of a more all-round rider in this modern age who isn’t called Tadej Pogačar.
The Visma-Lease a Bike rider has not had a bad season, with second at Dwaars door Vlaanderen, fourth at the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, second at Brabantse Pijl and fourth at the Amstel Gold Race. He has now won a stage of the Giro d’Italia, completing the set of Grand Tour stage wins, and did so in impressive circumstances in Siena, digging so deep to cling onto Isaac del Toro’s wheel and win the stage that was, in effect, a mini-Strade Bianche. Accordingly, he currently sits at fourth in the UCI’s rankings, behind only Pogačar, Remco Evenepoel and Primož Roglič, and ahead of Mathieu van der Poel.
