Van Aert will not start at the start of stage 18 of the Tour de France to attend the birth of his daughter

Belgian rider Wout van Aert will not start Stage 18 of the Tour France Tower and skipping an audition to attend the birth of his daughter, Jumbo’s team reported Thursday, the day after Danish captain Jonas Vingaard sentenced the general. The decision was made last Tuesday night, after A time trial in which he finished third and Vingegaard achieved an important advantage overall over Slovenian Tadej Pogacar, which was confirmed a day later in the final Alpine stage in Courchevel. It feels weird, but it’s not a dilemma, the decision was easy. I always said I’d come home when my wife told me she needed me. That moment has come. My teammates understand the decision and support me 100%,” says the cyclist in a video that Jumbo posted on social networks.

The Belgian, who has struggled since the start of the Tour in Bilbao, regretted not being able to score a victory in the tenth stage of the Tour, even though he was in the top three four times, second twice and third several times. But it was one of the props for Vingegaard to go, barring a serious accident, to re-validate the title achieved last year. The Dane had claimed that Van Aert would be by his side whenever he needed him. The two riders embraced warmly in Courchevel.

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