The Belgian cyclist Wout van Aert has decided not to continue his participation in the Tour de France and to return home to accompany his wife in the hours before the imminent birth of their second child. The athlete, part of the Jumbo-Visma team, has been key to the advantage of more than seven minutes that his teammate Jonas Vingegaard has over Tadej Pogačar.
This is precisely one of the reasons for the Belgian's withdrawal at this time from the Tour, since it is most likely that Vingegaard will revalidate the title achieved in 2022. With only four stages to go, and only one with mountain climbing, Van Aert's presence was not considered by his team as "essential" for him to go home.
"As everyone knows, Sarah is pregnant, things are starting to get complicated at home. After consulting with the team, we have decided that where I should be now is at home," the cyclist commented on his decision in a video published by the team itself on social networks. The cyclist feels that it is a "strange feeling, but it is not a dilemma, it is an easy decision."
In addition, he made it clear that this was not a change of plans, since at all times he had taken into account the possibility of leaving, although he was always focused on trying to reach Paris. "I always thought that I would go home when my wife told me that she needed me. That time has come," van Aert said.
She had already announced it before the start of the Tour, that if the delivery happened, she would leave the test immediately. For van Aert it is clear that the priority is his family, but this time everything went well for him. He leaves calm knowing that he fulfilled his job of promoting Vingegaard's victory and will be present, accompanying his wife, in one of the most important moments of his life.
The cyclist thus closes his participation in an edition of the Tour in which he could not win any stage, which he had achieved on at least one occasion in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022. "On several occasions I had the legs to win the stage, but it did not happen", concluded the Belgian.
