Wout Van aert (Visma – Lease a Bike) struggled with the pace of successive attacks as he finished sixth in the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup in Dendermonde as dry conditions resulted in a criterium-style race.
The 31-year-old failed to drop his rivals during a persistent effort as a front group of 10 riders remained together throughout the race.
It was youngster Thibau Nys (Baloise Glowi Lions) who was quickest on the final lap, after battling his way to the front of the group and sprinting to victory.After beating Van Aert in a narrow sprint at heusden-Zolder five days earlier,22-year-old Tibor Del Grosso (Alpecin – Deceuninck) finished runner-up,a career best World Cup placing.
“it was a challenging course,” said Van Aert afterwards. “The first 10 riders were close together. It could just as well have been a different result. But I came here to compete for the win and I never did.
“I think everyone tried attacking once. But making a real difference was almost impossible. I was better in the second half of the race, better in position.
“But two laps from the end, I let myself be done a little too much, I was too far back in the group, and then my race was actually already done.”
Wout van Aert Considers Cyclo-cross World Championships as Schedule Nears Completion
Wout van Aert is set to continue his cyclo-cross campaign with races in Herentals tomorrow,December 29th,followed by events in Mol on January 2nd and Zonhoven on January 4th. The three-time world champion is evaluating whether to extend his season to include the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Hulst on february 1st.
Following a recent defeat,van Aert acknowledged the difficulty of securing a win this cyclo-cross season,particularly with the potential participation of rival Mathieu van der Poel. “Winning is always hard. If Mathieu doesn’t participate, the chance is greater for others to win, but beating the rest is also difficult. I hope to be better in Loenhout than today,” he stated, as reported by Cyclingnews.
Van Aert plans to conclude his current cyclo-cross schedule at the Belgian National Championships in Beringen on January 11th. Last year,he extended his season to compete against Van der Poel at the World Championships.
Belgian national coach Angelo De Clercq is hopeful van Aert will reconsider and lead the nation at the upcoming championships. “I still hope that Wout will start in Hulst. Now when I make my pre-selection, I fill in his name in pencil,” De Clercq told Sporza. “I don’t think it’s completely out of the question that he will go to the world championships, but a final selection will be made around the Belgian championships. Then we’ll see if Wout is there or not.”
Though, De Clercq acknowledges that continued cold weather and challenging course conditions in the Netherlands could influence van Aert’s decision to adhere to his original schedule.
De Clercq believes a strong performance alongside Van der Poel in the coming races could boost van Aert’s confidence and potentially change his mind. “Maybe there will come a time when Van Aert gets a confidence boost by going along with Van der Poel for a long time in Loenhout or Zonhoven,” he said. “That may completely change that feeling for him.”
Beyond sporting considerations,De clercq emphasized van Aert’s importance as a leader within the Belgian team. “Not only is Wout important to us in terms of sport, but he is also a leader. All the youngsters look up to him and it’s very critically important to have him with us to such a championship.”