Will van Aert continue to dominate?
Cyclo-cross stars were stunned after the Belgian’s return and afraid that the top spot on the podium might be out of reach for some time. “We have to be honest, it could be a Christmas period without victories,” says Toon Aerts.
New cross season ⮕ new cross bike 😏
We’re happy to introduce the @cervelo R5-CX 🤩 pic.twitter.com/NxAF9btMQq— Team Jumbo-Visma cycling (@JumboVismaRoad) December 2, 2021
Van Aert himself had played down the expectations ahead of the Superprestige race in Boom on Saturday. He said he had not raced cyclo-cross since the World Championships in January and not raced at all for the past two months, as well as suffering from a midweek cold. However, nothing of that seemed to matter.
He went clear on the second of seven laps and finished 1:40 ahead of the rest. Despite the fact he crashed on the penultimate lap.
“I actually thought that I would make a difference with Toon but when I suddenly looked back, I saw that the gap was large. I then looked for my own pace and that turned out to be faster than that of the rest,” Van Aert said according to Sporza.
“We should not draw too strong conclusions from this but I am, in any case, much better than I expected,” Van Aert added. “Those training hours in the rain last week were not for nothing. And it gives confidence for what is to come.”
“It is unbelievable what Wout van Aert has done here,” Toon Aerts, who got the closest to him in second place, told Sporza.
“It was to be expected that he would quickly join the front of affairs but that he produces such a lap after just one lap shows a lot of confidence. This race will make him even more confident in the coming weeks.”
There is no doubt about the confidence. Not that it’s something Wout van Aert usually lacks. Do you think he’ll continue to dominate the cyclocross races? Let us know!
Don’t miss our giveaway!
What did actually happen?
What's happening here then @MichaelValgren 🤣
Let's have a caption competition 👇 pic.twitter.com/YsDjdepoB5
— Geraint Thomas (@GeraintThomas86) December 1, 2021
Sounds about right
Current status. https://t.co/mCmA5IkfKo
— Cyclocross24.com (@cyclocross24) December 5, 2021
Well
— Cycling out of context (@OutOfCycling) November 30, 2021
We’ve all been there
First ride back after 3w off. Went far too hard, far too soon, for far too long, without enough food or water, blew my doors, stopped at a service station, ate too much, went too hard, blew my doors, froze, thawed out.Made all the amateur mistakes in one hit, rest day tomorrow ☠️ pic.twitter.com/CrSRuaVYyN
— Alex Dowsett (@alexdowsett) November 27, 2021
