‘Sad’ – Wout van Aert hits out at Nils Eekhoff for 'joke' points move on Stage 16 of the Tour de France
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Updated 20/07/2022 at 11:12 GMT
Wout van Aert said he found it "sad" that Nils Eekhoff darted ahead of him to pick up maximum points on the intermediate sprint during Stage 16 of the Tour de France - despite having no chance of challenging for the green jersey. Van Aert did say every rider “has the right to sprint” but that he would have appreciated a heads-up from his rival. Dan Lloyd called the move a "joke".
'I thought it was a bit of a joke' - Shock as Eekhoff sprints past Van Aert
Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) has said with a wry smile that it was “sad” that Nils Eekhoff (Team DSM) surged ahead of him to pick up full points during the intermediate sprint on Stage 16 of the Tour de France.
Van Aert started the day on a near-insurmountable tally of 378 in the green jersey points classification with his nearest challenger Tadej Pogacar on 182.
However the Belgian was peeved when Eekhoff, who started the day on zero points, kicked clear near the line of the only intermediate sprint of the stage at Lavelanet.
"Everyone has the right to sprint," Van Aert said after the finish about the bizarre moment.
"I did tell Nils that I would have appreciated it if he had said beforehand that he wanted to sprint. Then we could really do that.
"He threw his wheel [ahead of me] and I thought that was a bit sad. I think they want to spice up the cash register at DSM," he added with a smile when asked by a reporter whether Eekhoff - now in 62nd place on 20 points in the green jersey standings - was one more rival.
The move from Eekhoff drew surprise from Eurosport's Rob Hatch and Dan Lloyd on commentary during the race, with Lloyd saying he thought it was a joke when he saw the DSM rider surge clear.
“And it is Van Aert at the front here,” said Hatch as he set the scene as the riders approached the line.
“He takes a brief glimpse down and I shouldn't see anybody who wants to challenge him too much.
"Although Eekhoff will give him a little bit of competition," finished Hatch as the DSM rider set about breaching the line.
“I didn't expect Eekhoff to continue on - I thought it was a bit of a joke,” interjected a bemused Lloyd.
“So did I,” concurred Hatch, adding: “He’s picked up 20 points.”
Later in the day there was an emotional end to the stage as Canada’s Hugo Houle (Israel-Premier Tech) picked up a first professional win and immediately dedicated it to his late brother.
The 31-year-old broke away from the remains of a 29-man breakaway ahead of the final climb of the day, the Mur de Peguere, and as he crossed the line he pointed to the sky in memory of his late brother Pierrick, who was killed at 19 years old when hit by a drunk driver while out running.
“I had one dream and that was to get the win for my brother, who died when I turned professional,” said Houle after the race.
“Today it’s for him. I worked so hard for 10 years and today I got my win for him. It’s incredible, I don’t know what to say, I’m so happy."
Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) saw off a series of furious attacks from Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) to cross the line - alongside his Slovenian rival - some 5'54" in arrears of Houle to maintain his 2'22" advantage in the general classification.
Stage 17 represents the first of back-to-back summit finishes in the Pyrenees where two-time Tour winner Pogacar will once again look to make inroads on Vingegaard.
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