The third stage was largely uneventful, allowing Van Aert and his teammates to focus early on the sprint—one he won last year. After the sprinters’ teams were denied their chance in the opening stage due to chaos in the finale, it quickly became clear that a bunch sprint was inevitable this time.

In the final kilometers, Van Aert was well-positioned at the front, thanks in part to Tiesj Benoot. With many fast men eyeing the stage win, the fight for position was intense. Jordi Meeus ultimately took the victory, while Van Aert, coming from a seemingly lost position, managed to sprint to seventh place.

“I was in a good position going into the final kilometer but lost it”, Van Aert said afterwards. “It was a very calm day, but the speed at the end was incredibly high. I lost my spot at a roundabout with 800 meters to go and gave away too many places to launch a proper sprint.”

Still, the Belgian saw a positive takeaway. “My sprint itself was good. It’s hard to judge the full picture when you have to come from behind, but I’m happy I could be in the mix and be part of the fight for the win. That’s definitely a good feeling”, Van Aert concluded.