> He's struggling. He's falling behind. He's nowhere near the form he's used to. The great all-rounder Wout van Aert was supposed to be one of the Giro's biggest stars. He still could be. But the question that's currently worrying experts the most is: What has caused the 30-year-old Belgian cyclist to fall so far short of expectations?

> The answers vary.
> The lingering effects of a previous illness.
> Excessive perfectionism leading to overtraining.
> Loss of self-confidence after previous results in the season.
< Family life and trying to devote more time to his children.
> Or of course a combination of some of these factors.

> In the opening stage of the Giro in Albania, it still seemed that the effects of a previous illness would not limit Wout van Aert as much as many feared. He struggled in the classic terrain and was unable to keep up with Lidl-Trek just before the top of the final climb, but on the subsequent descent he pulled back to the front and won second place in the sprint behind the winner Mads Pedersen.

> “This was far beyond my expectations,” he said afterwards. “I didn’t feel well during the day, but I wanted to try to attack the pink jersey. I value second place too.”

> But the next stages only caused embarrassment.

> In the short, flat time trial to Tirana, he would normally have attacked hard in the maglia rosa, after all, he had dominated this discipline in the past at the Tour. This time he finished thirty-fourth, 39 seconds behind winner Josh Tarling.

> “I knew something like this could happen,” he responded. “Am I disappointed? Yes, I am, for sure. Was my previous illness responsible for my performance? I don’t know. I’m doing what I can, and I don’t want to make excuses for anything. It’s just the way it is. I was struggling. After going through the bends, I didn’t have the strength to quickly pick up speed again.”

> In the third, again classic stage of the Albanian around the city of Vlorë, he then capitulated on Sunday on the most difficult 2nd category climb. The peloton quickly fell away from him, gradually gaining a quarter of an hour’s loss.

> "I didn't want to put too much strain on my body. I'm a realist. I couldn't perform at my usual level," he admitted.