For a rider who spent years redefining what it means to be a modern cyclist part classics crusher, part time trial monster, part mountain stage enigma Wout van Aert has remained remarkably private since stepping away from competitive racing in 2025. But in a rare interview aired this week on The Ride Within, the Belgian legend finally broke a decade of near-total silence to speak about the race he still thinks about the one that, in his words, “cut the deepest and lifted me the highest.”
That race, he revealed, was the 2022 Tour de France Stage 11, a brutal mountain stage to Col du Granon — and the day the narrative around Wout van Aert began to shift from “super-domestique” to “something the sport had never seen before.”
“I gave everything that day,” van Aert said softly, his eyes focused and voice steady. “Not for me, but for Jonas [Vingegaard]. That stage… it was where I felt like I gave more than I thought I had. And if I could replay one day, not to change it, but to feel it again it would be that.”
The stage became iconic. Van Aert launched a devastating early attack in support of his Jumbo-Visma teammates, riding like a man possessed across terrain meant to break pure climbers. His selfless pace-setting on the Galibier, then relentless work on the Telegraphe, cracked the previously untouchable Tadej Pogačar setting up Vingegaard’s unforgettable solo win and ultimately, his yellow jersey triumph in Paris.
But while the world cheered the performance, few knew what it took from van Aert.
“I had bronchitis that week. Barely slept. And yet… I’ve never felt more alive. It was suffering at its most pure, but for a purpose,” he said.
Asked why he chose now, ten years later, to speak on it, van Aert’s answer was simple.
“I’ve watched the sport change. I see young riders chasing watts, margins, numbers. But I want them to know greatness isn’t always about standing on the top step. Sometimes it’s about being the reason someone else does.”
Van Aert retired quietly at 31, citing a desire to be present with his young family and to avoid the spiral of diminishing returns that often follows greatness. Since then, he has avoided the spotlight, turning down commentary gigs, coaching roles, and even high-profile documentary appearances. But this interview marked a shift a quiet invitation into the mind of a man who gave everything to cycling, then left before the sport could take more.
The response was immediate. Hashtags like #WoutSpeaks and #Stage11Forever trended on X and Instagram, while current pros like Remco Evenepoel and Tadej Pogačar publicly praised the Belgian for “reminding us what sacrifice looks like.”
Even longtime rival Mathieu van der Poel shared a tribute post: “There were races I won, and races I only survived because Wout was there. This was one of them.”
Whether Wout van Aert returns in any official role directeur sportif, coach, mentor remains to be seen. But one thing is certain: he hasn’t been forgotten. And now, with one candid conversation, he’s reminded the world that legends aren’t just remembered for how many times they win… but for the one day they gave it all for someone else.