Belgian rider Vot van Aart missed the chance to win the third stage of the Dauphine on Tuesday due to his early celebration before reaching the finish line.
He was close to winning before young Frenchman David Godot appeared out of nowhere to approach Van Aert and beat him to cross the line to announce the winner of the race.
Coming back with a kilometer to go, the Belgian Art was the closest to winning, being the fastest among the leaders, and he seemed confident about taking his hands off the wheel to celebrate, convinced that he had accomplished his task. , and did not see his rival Gaudo, who took advantage of the moment and went to the end with the first rivals.
“After all, I raised my hand a little early,” Art told reporters after the race.
🏆🇫🇷 @DavidGaudu bat @WoutvanAert sur la ligne !
🏆🇫🇷 @DavidGaudu outsprints @WoutvanAert!#Dauphiné pic.twitter.com/u9LXMOiKnt
— Critérium du Dauphiné (@dauphine) June 7, 2022
“I’m actually ashamed of losing him this way, a huge disappointment that I didn’t finish the race and the win that I would have had had I held the wheel in my hand instead of celebrating.”
He bitterly continued: “Before, when I watched clips like what happened to me with another rider, I was amazed, now I understand the feeling of a broken heart better.”
But Van Aert has calmed down a little since he led the overall standings ahead of the singles time trial on Wednesday.