Wout van Aert’s participation in the Cyclocross campaign continued to be inconsistent this Thursday afternoon in Koksijde, with the Belgian cyclist facing significant challenges to secure the third position in the X2O Trofee.
As expected, the race was won by Wout Van Aert’s main rival, Mathieu van der Poel, the dominant force in Cyclocross this winter. Aware that he wouldn’t be able to compete with his primary opponent, the Belgian cyclist made the decision not to try to catch the Dutchman.
“No, consciously, I didn’t try to follow him,” admitted Van Aert in his post-race interview.
“At the start, I clipped in, so I made a serious effort to get away well,” Van Aert further elaborates. “That might have been a bit too much. I started the first sand section with a very high heart rate. Mathieu then did the same as in other races. I chose my own pace, and it wasn’t very fast.”
However, Van Aert clearly still had something left in the tank, as in the end, he distanced himself from Lars van der Haar in the battle for third place and almost caught the second-placed rider, Pim Ronhaar.
“I’ve had better legs in Cyclocross races in the past, so sometimes I had to adapt to that feeling,” analyzed Van Aert.
“But I still enjoyed it. I got a nice victory in Zolder, and in the other races, there were also a lot of people by the roadside. It was a pleasure to see my fans again,” concluded the Belgian.
Watch the interview: