They ask him: "Did you ever stop believing?"
It would be easy to answer this question with a no. It would be natural to claim that he believed in it every single moment: who knows how many times this answer has been given in the history of sport. Sure, it would be rhetorical if someone like him were to say it; it would sound prepackaged, but on a day like this, we'd forgive him. Instead, van Aert, in true van Aert style, admits that yes, he stopped believing in it many times.
This is what makes him different, this is why there's no one in the Velodrome or outside who isn't happy with his victory: in Wout van Aert, there's a crack, doubt and contradiction find dignity. All the unexpected detours, the missed arrows, the spiteful claws he's encountered in his career have stripped away his character, offering us clear glimpses of the man. Someone who is madly in love with cycling, who is as fragile as we are, and as tenacious as we wish we were: "I stopped believing in it so many times, but the next morning I always started fighting again."
