The Critérium du Dauphiné continues tonight on SBS and SBS On Demand with coverage of the second stage commencing at 10:55pm (AEST). The course is another hilly one over 170 kilometres from Saint-Péray to Brives-Charensac.
Van Aert unleashed his attack towards the finish in Beauchastel; overtaking Ethan Hayter (Ineos Grenadiers) as Sean Quinn (EF Education Easy-Post) nabbed third.
The Jumbo-Visma star had prepared for a hard conclusion to the hilly, 192-kilometre stage and was happy to hold firm in the first of eight days across the southeast of France.
"If you look to the profile of the stage, you could expect a hard final," van Aert said after the race.
"A lot of teams were interested in dropping a few sprinters. I could hang on and felt good for the sprint. It was really nice.
"On the climbs I felt quite comfortable, and a hard stage suits me when it's like this but then in the sprint there were guys like Hayter, and you have to beat them.
"He's doing great this season, so it was tough to pass him, but in the end it happened so I'm happy."
Maxime Bouet (Arkea Samsic), Laurens Huys (Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert Materiaux), and Pierre Rolland (B&B Hotels) controlled the main break of the day, often by as much as two minutes.
Trek-Segafredo, Ineos Grenadiers and BikeExchange-Jayco were among the more active teams in pursuit, though it wasn't until the Cote du Chambon de Bavas that the gap was reduced with 57 kilometres to go.
A late attack from Remi Cavagna (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) almost distanced the remaining sprinters, before Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) did his best to close out the attack.
Teammate Hayter looked to be the direct beneficiary of Ganna's great work as the finish line approached - that was until van Aert's emergence in the closing moments.
"This is something that we tried to work on over the last few weeks, so if it pays off immediately then it's always a good feeling," van Aert added.
The Critérium du Dauphiné continues tonight on SBS and SBS On Demand with coverage of the second stage commencing at 10:55pm (AEST). The course is another hilly one over 170 kilometres from Saint-Péray to Brives-Charensac.
