0
Profile

Toon Aerts sprints to second place in stage 12 of the Giro

Talk about a comeback: after the painful withdrawal of team leader Lennert Van Eetvelt from the Giro d’Italia yesterday, Toon Aerts claimed an impressive second place in Stage 12 today. “I really thought I could win, I felt so strong.”
21 May 2026
Previous Next

“Today, frustration and celebration are very close together,” said Toon Aerts. “Just imagine it… I could have taken a stage victory in the Giro. I did everything I had to do. I actually hadn’t seen Alec Segaert go. I was mainly focused on Corbin Strong’s wheel in front of me. Only when I launched my sprint did I realize Alec was still ahead. A pity, but of course it wasn’t up to our team to chase him down. Alec was actually our teammate last year, so naturally I’m happy for him too.”

Toon Aerts’ second place is a huge boost for the team, which, following the withdrawal of team leader Lennert Van Eetvelt yesterday- he broke his finger in a painful crash, and the earlier exits of Arnaud De Lie, Milan Menten and Joshua Giddings, is now left with only four riders in this Giro. “This morning on the team bus, together with the staff, we got a big motivational talk from sports director Maxime Bouet. He said: ‘After all this bad luck, show what we’re still capable of.’ It was a moment to gather our courage again. Not that we were feeling down, but losing your team leader definitely affects you. I shared a room with Lennert and we get along well. We worked for him all week, but when things go wrong, there’s really nothing more you can do for him. Then it becomes difficult to say anything meaningful. Maxime’s speech definitely helped all of us push through during the difficult moments of the stage.”

Aerts had actually marked Stage 12 in his calendar beforehand together with Bouet. “Even before the Giro, Maxime told me this stage suited me. I’ve been preparing for this for a long time. Tomorrow should, in principle, be another day where the breakaway has a chance, but I went pretty deep today, so we’ll have to see how I feel. In any case, this sprint has given me a huge boost in confidence, so bring on the rest of the Giro.”

 

Picture: Cyclingmedia_agency