Wout van Aert is still searching for his first victory of 2026, with the Belgian coming the closest yet to the win on Thursday's stage 4 of Tirreno-Adriatico.
He and his Visma-Lease a Bike teammate Matteo Jorgenson worked in tandem late on the hilly 213km stage, with the American often in control of the select lead group at the head of the race on the road to Martinsicuro.
However, it wasn't to be for Van Aert, who reacted to a move by Jan Christen in the final kilometre, using up his energy before Filippo Ganna surged up the other side of the road and Mathieu van der Poel shot past with the winning effort.
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"A missed opportunity," Van Aert said, noting a theme following his Omloop Het Nieuwsblad illness, his Samyn Classic puncture, and his poor positioning on stage 2 of this race.
"Now the 'missed opportunity' dominates," he told Belgian media after placing fifth on the stage.
"We rode a fantastic race," he added. "Timo [Kielich] played a crucial role by dropping us off at the front just before the climb. When Matteo then starts thinning out the group, you know there aren't many left."
He talked through the final kilometre, noting that he used up valuable energy in reacting to Christen. When Van der Poel went, nobody – even his career-long rival Van Aert – could come close.
"I reacted too quickly to that late attack from Christen, and I'd already completed my sprint," Van Aert said.
"Mathieu launched his sprint from a long way out, and no one else could get near him. So he was clearly the fastest. I am happy with my feeling."
'Not the smartest thing to do'
Visma directeur sportif Maarten Wynants revealed that his team had avoided doing the work during the stage by sending Kielich out in the breakaway. That move let other riders, including Jorgenson and Van Aert, save themselves for the final.
That strategy paid off, with Jorgenson able to lead the way up the day's decisive final climb, the steep ramp of Tortoreto. He also pushed the pace down the other side, allowing the group to stay away from the chasers behind, but Van Aert wasn't able to finish off the job.
"Wout really wanted to win and reacted directly into the wind. That wasn't the smartest thing to do," Wynants said, according to Het Laatste Nieuws.
"Mathieu was better, but after that climb, only 10 riders remained [12 made it over with two more joining before the finish – Ed.]. Wout is among the top 10 in the race. That bodes well for the coming weeks."
Visma's attention is likely to turn to Jorgenson in the next two stages of the race, including Friday's hilly finish in Mombaroccio and Saturday's queen stage to Camerino.
The 26-year-old, twice a Paris-Nice champion, currently lies fourth overall in the general classification, 34 seconds down on race leader Giulio Pellizzari.
