Van Aert exhausts himself to keep up with Van der Poel for a while: "Wanted to put him under pressure"

Wout van Aert managed to follow the pace of Mathieu van der Poel for two rounds in the World Cup in Gavere, but in the third round, he went overboard, causing the Jumbo-Visma Belgian to lose a lot of time and meaning the battle had quickly ended. Nevertheless, Van Aert was satisfied with the second part of his race. "In any case, it's a good sign that I'm not losing more time," the Belgian told various media, including IDLProCycling.com.

While Van Aert quickly abandoned the chase in Antwerp, he remained combative for a long time in Gavere. Eight seconds was the difference after the first round, and the Belgian kept pace with the world champion, who attracted some booing. Van Aert was boosted by the thousands of fans and clearly had a better day, but saw his deficit increase further after two rounds. "I actually wanted to push for the entire length of the cyclo-cross and stay close to Mathieu that way, but halfway through the second round, I went over my limit on the long climb, and you shouldn't do that in such a race, because in the round after that, I lost thirty seconds."

Van Aert went over his limit: "I had to try to follow Van der Poel for myself"

At that point, Van Aert had to accept that victory was out of reach for him. "That was mentally quite tough, yes, but there was always still a fight. Several guys behind me were still close. It is difficult to recover after you go over your limit in the opening phase."

Especially since Van Aert saw this race as an opportunity for himself. "I made a point of going for it full throttle. It's a course with a lot of running sections, and that suits me well, at least on a good day. I do like a slower cyclo-cross, having to constantly get off the bike and then jump back on. So I had to try for myself to keep it up as long as possible."

Van Aert crashed straight into a spectator, but hardly noticed it afterwards

Like the others, the Jumbo-Visma Belgian struggled on the tough course and took risks on the descent - which almost went wrong. During the third round, the 29-year-old Belgian crashed downhill and slipped towards the posts at high speed. A spectator then broke his fall with a headbutt. "The people here at the finish were talking about it immediately, but I didn't notice anything myself. Sometimes it's just not possible to stay completely upright and then the crowd gets very close, of course. I do hope that I haven't injured anyone."

After his lesser moment in the opening phase, Van Aert rallied in the second part of the cyclo-cross in Gavere. "Mathieu always starts off very fast and then adjusts his pace according to what happens behind him, and I wanted to put him under pressure in the hope that he would weaken, but that happened to me first. Once I got a good pace in the second phase, things went better again. In the end, Mathieu was the strongest, but we were not outrun, and I am happy with the second part of the race and the level I am currently achieving."

Van Aert aims to win in Heusden-Zolder: "I always try to, but it's easier without Mathieu around"

On Wednesday, the 29-year-old Belgian will also start in the Superprestige in Heusden-Zolder, a cyclo-cross race where Van der Poel and Pidcock will not be at the start. "Tomorrow there will indeed be two fewer competitors, but the cyclo-cross in Heusden-Zolder is a very nice one, one where I have often performed well. I am looking forward to going for the win again. That's something I always try, but it's always a bit easier without Mathieu around."