One of the rare encounters in Cyclocross, with the presence of the three big names in the discipline this winter, the UCI World Cup round in Hulst, had some of its shine overshadowed due to the falls of two of its main stars.
After the bike breakdown that put Tom Pidcock in initial difficulties, Wout van Aert also lost a lot of time at the start, falling and experiencing subsequent chain problems. In total, about 30 seconds were lost by the Belgian due to the incident.
Watch Pidcock’s problem
Wout Van Aert’s problem had more developments.
Although it was not very clear how the fall occurred, it seems that the Belgian believes that Pim Ronhaar was to blame.
“I was on Mathieu’s wheel at a point on the course with many sharp turns. In one turn, I went on the inside, and Wout on the outside, and there’s only one track there. Apparently, I pushed him into the barriers,” Ronhaar recounted in the post-race interview.
Watch the video:
“I just spoke with him after the finish, and he wasn’t very happy. I understand that, of course, but I think he would have done the same to me,” the Baloise-Trek Lions cyclist continues.
“I will talk to him again in Baal (X2O Trophy – GP Sven Nys on January 1, 2024), to apologize. But I certainly didn’t intend to push him off there.”