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Wout van Aert’s Stage 5: ‘He didn’t want to push himself’

Another tough day for the Visma - Lease a Bike rider, who is still trying to ride himself into form

Wout van Aert’s Stage 5: ‘He didn’t want to push himself’ Photo by: Sirotti
May 14, 2025
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If you were watching Stage 5 of the Giro d’Italia on Wednesday, you would have seen a familiar sight of recent days: Wout van Aert dropping off the pace.

He had a great first stage in Albania, just missing out on what would have been a great win. Many wondered if, during the short time trial the next day, he could snag the pink jersey.

The Visma – Lease a Bike rider entered the Giro saying he had question marks about his form. “I’m going into this Giro with some question marks. I got sick last week and that meant the preparation was not ideal,” he said. “After the Amstel Gold Race I wasn’t able to do any real training. I kept having to adjust it. I had an infection that continued to linger, so to be honest, I’m going into this not really knowing where the legs are at.”

Prior to his sickness, his return to form seemed promising. His spring campaign was solid by most standards, but a major victory slipped through his fingers. He showed strong form with fourth-place finishes at both the Amstel Gold Race and Paris-Roubaix, yet he had to settle for second at Dwars door Vlaanderen and De Brabantse Pijl.


Stage 5 featured several tough lumps leading to the finish in Matera, but some wondered if Van Aert would hang on and then contest the sprint. Many sprinters were having a tough time on the climbs—including winner Mads Pedersen—but Van Aert looked like he might survive.

However, heading into the last climb, it was clear this was not the day for Van Aert. He took a few pulls for his teammate Simon Yates, then sat up with 4 km to go. “Wout didn’t want to push himself because he still doesn’t feel great. Together with Bart Lemmen, he did a good job setting up Simon for the finale and then rode calmly to the finish,” directeur sportif Marc Reef said.

Stage 7 is hilly in the first half before flattening out to the finish from Potenza to Napoli, so it will most likely be a day for a breakaway—or a sprinter. G.C. riders will for sure be paying attention in the start, but given the relatively “easy” finish, there shouldn’t be too many challenges for those gunning for a top spot.

You can catch all the action on FloBikes.com, and Canadian Cycling Magazine will have full reports after.

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