Wout van Aert finally appeared to be at the same level as Mathieu van der Poel Friday,but a possible showdown between the two at the cyclocross world championships has been upended due to a crash and a fracture.
Head to head in blizzard conditions in the Exact cross Mol – Zilvermeercross, Van Aert slid out on an icy bend on lap six of nine, hitting the ground hard. He remounted and limped on to the pits, but then had to withdraw.
A near-hypothermic Van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech) went on to win his eight consecutive win this season, stomping home 1:23 ahead of Toon Aerts (Charles Liégeois-Deschacht) by 1:23 and Felipe Orts Lloret (Ridley Racing Team) by 1:41.
Ceylin Alvarado (Fenix-Premier Tech) stormed to her first win of the season in the women’s race, 12 seconds clear of manon Bakker (Crelan-Corendon) and 26 ahead of Julie brouwers (Charles liégeois-deschacht).
It took a while for the full details of Van Aert’s injury to emerge.
“Wout is experiencing pain in his ankle,” Visma-Lease a Bike directeur sportif Jan Boven said after the race. “We will conduct further examinations before drawing any conclusions. It’s a shame the race had to end this way, because Wout was very strong, and it was a great duel.”
Van Aert underwent a medical examination and was diagnosed with a small fracture to his ankle. The Visma squad issued a statement confirming he will undergo surgery on Saturday,and has been forced to abandon the rest of the cyclocross season.
No battle for the rainbow jersey
Wout van Aert Ends Cyclocross Season Early Due to Illness
Wout van Aert has concluded his 2024-2025 cyclocross season prematurely due to illness, effectively ruling him out of contention for the UCI Cyclocross World Championships in Hulst on February 1st. The declaration comes after van Aert finished sixth in the Mol cyclocross race on Sunday, December 29th, despite showing promising signs of form.
According to a statement released by van Aert, he was feeling increasingly better, including during the Mol race. He had been looking forward to upcoming races in Zonhoven and the Belgian National Championships. Though, he will now focus on recovery and planning for the upcoming road season.
“Of course I am very disappointed to have to end my cyclocross season like this,” van Aert said. “I was feeling better and better, including today in Mol. I was really looking forward to the race in Zonhoven and the Belgian Championships. But my focus will now be on recovery and, later on, the preparation of the road season.”
The news is a blow to cyclocross fans who were anticipating a potential showdown between van Aert and his rival, Mathieu van der Poel, at the World Championships. Belgian national coach Angelo De Clercq had expressed his desire for van Aert to compete, noting his recent progress.
“Wout has already shown a huge amount of progress in the crosses he finishes,” De Clercq stated at the Gavere World Cup race, as reported by sporza. “In Hofstade he was really very stable. I still hope Wout will start in Hulst. If I make my pre-selection now, I’ll fill in his name with pencil. I also don’t think it’s completely out of the question that he’s going to the world championships, but a final selection will be made around the national championships. Then we’ll see if Wout is there or not.”
Van Aert’s withdrawal dashes hopes for another historic duel between the two dominant figures in cyclocross.
Sources:
* FirstCycling.com – Mol Cyclocross Results
* FirstCycling.com – Gavere World Cup Results