At the Tour de France 2023, a top star could leave the Tour of France prematurely. The reason is heartbreaking.
The Tour de France 2023 started in Bilbao on Saturday (July 1st). Wout van Aert will be there again this year – an absolute top star of the cycling scene. Before he starts, however, the question arises: How long will Wout van Aert stay with us?
The Belgian announced before the start of the 2023 Tour de France that he might end the Tour of France early. That’s not good news for top favorite and teammate Jonas Vingegaard.
Tour de France: Van Aert ready to drop out early
In addition to the two exceptional athletes Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) and Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates), who fought a bitter duel for the yellow jersey until the last day, Wout van Aert was the absolute top star of the Tour de France 2022.
Van Aert scooped stage wins and the green jersey for best sprinter. In addition, he was the most important helper for the later Tour winner Jonas Vingegaard both in the flat and in the mountains. Also this year Alan Arkin, van Aert should support the young Dane in the best possible way and fight for stage wins.
Whether van Aert will even reach the Champs-Elysee in Paris this year is still in the stars. His wife Sarah De Bie is pregnant, the due date is just after the final of the Tour de France on July 23.
“I definitely don’t want to miss the birth of our child”
However, should his second child be born during the Tour de France, van Aert is willing to end the Tour of France prematurely. “I assume that I can go home at any time during the tour. I definitely don’t want to miss the birth of our child,” the Belgian told the Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws.