Victory did not come, but for Wout van Aert the fourth stage of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes represented an important day nonetheless. The Belgian from Visma-Lease a Bike showed encouraging signs of improvement after a few complicated days, leaving behind the unconvincing images from Tuesday's team time trial, when he had appeared in evident difficulty.

The stage victory went to American Quinn Simmons, protagonist of a winning breakaway that surprised the peloton. Behind the Lidl-Trek rider, however, Van Aert was among the most brilliant in the finale, imposing himself in the main group sprint after a comeback that started from the back of the field.

"I'm happy with yesterday's stage," said the Flemish rider at the end of the stage, finally showing a smile after days characterized by doubts and questions about his physical condition.

The stage was characterized by an unexpected development: a particularly strong group of attackers gained significant ground, while the peloton underestimated the danger of the breakaway. In the final kilometers, several teams attempted to organize the chase, but the accumulated gap proved too difficult to close.

"In the last two or three kilometers we simply started pedaling to try to reduce the gap to the breakaway - Van Aert explained with a quip - I was hoping that today a smaller group would form up front, but we had to change our approach quite quickly. It was a surprise to see such a strong breakaway continue to push all the way to the finish."

Despite the eleventh place finish, the Belgian rider drew very positive indications from his performance. Above all, he rediscovered sensations that seemed lost in the previous days.

"I won the group sprint, it's not worth a stage victory, obviously, but it's nice to be able to 'feel' my legs again," he commented. Words that perfectly capture the moment of the Belgian champion: the overall classification remains secondary to the need to regain brilliance and confidence ahead of upcoming appointments.

A fundamental aspect of the day was the support received from his teammates. Van Aert recounted how he openly asked for confidence during the morning team meeting.

"Yesterday morning, even though it wasn't easy, I asked the team to continue believing in me. I immediately felt the support from everyone. When you receive this confidence from the guys, things go a bit better. In that sense, it was a great day."

The difficulties of recent days have not shaken the team's confidence in their leader's qualities, especially with regard to bunch finishes. And the body language shown at the finish line confirmed that morale had returned to high levels.

"When things don't go as planned it's never pleasant to come and explain a disappointing performance. I always try to do it, but it's clear that now it's much more fun to give interviews."

The Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes will offer another opportunity today: the fifth stage, 195.8 kilometers long from Saint-Chamond to Parc des Oiseaux in Villars-les-Dombes, features an undulating route with two categorized climbs in the first part and a finish favorable to sprinters. For Van Aert it could be ideal terrain to transform the positive signals shown in the fourth stage into a prestigious result.
Victory is still missing, but the worst seems to be behind him. And for a champion like Wout van Aert, regaining confidence and sensations can be worth almost as much as raising his arms to the sky.