Van Aert explains why “the lights went out” at the World Championships and confirms he will race cyclocross this season

Wout van Aert did not achieve the result he expected at the World Championship in Montreal, but at least he left an important piece of news about what comes next. The Belgian confirmed that he will return to compete in cyclocross, although he has not yet specified when he will start his season. This decision contrasts with that of Mathieu van der Poel, who for now keeps the door open to CX but assures that he has not yet thought about his plans for this winter.

Wout van Aert did not have his day at the World Championship

The World Championship in Montreal marked the end of Wout van Aert's road season. The Belgian finished 28th, 5:11 behind Brandon McNulty, after a race in which he tried to anticipate and was part of several important moves before ultimately running out of strength.

"It was an incredibly tough World Championship and for me, it was simply too tough," Van Aert acknowledged after the race in statements collected by Het Nieuwsblad.

The Belgian believed he had approached the race correctly, although his legs ended up dictating the outcome much earlier than he expected.

RECOMENDADO

“Racing without a radio is the best thing there is”: Van der Poel calls time on his season after taking bronze in Montréal

“He could blow us all apart here”: Evenepoel warns about Van der Poel ahead of the World Championships

Evenepoel owns up to his off day at the World Championships: “No excuses, I simply wasn’t good enough”

“A miracle was needed, and today it happened”: McNulty and the World Championships that seemed impossible

Brandon McNulty stuns everyone and is crowned World Champion in Montréal

"I think I had a good race, but four or five laps from the end, the lights went out. It's frustrating, but I couldn't do anything else."

Van Aert knew that waiting until the last laps could leave him without options against the best climbers, which is why he decided to move from afar. With about 90 kilometers to go, he entered one of the most dangerous moves of the race alongside Mathieu van der Poel, Primož Roglič, and the one who would later become world champion, Brandon McNulty.

"They were making the race extremely tough. I knew that if I just followed wheels all day, it would be very difficult to have an important role in the final."

Van Aert chose to follow Van der Poel

One of the moves that ultimately defined his race came from his great rival in cyclocross. Van Aert saw Van der Poel particularly strong and decided it was worth the risk to follow him.

"Everyone knows what Mathieu can do. It was clear he wasn't just following wheels; he was really trying to break the race apart."

"He looked extremely strong, so he was exactly the type of rider to try to follow."

The gamble worked for a while, but Van Aert ultimately found his limit when Van der Poel accelerated again. Once his own options were ruled out, the Belgian completely changed his objective and set himself to support Remco Evenepoel.

"When I had to let the front group go, the only useful thing I could do was try to bring Remco back into the race."

Van Aert managed to bring his teammate closer to the favorites even though Evenepoel was also not having his best day.

"I saw he was one of the last favorites to come back to the front, and that was not a good sign. But with Remco, you never know. When my race ended, I still had quite a bit of confidence in his chances."

Evenepoel would finish 12th, while Van Aert crossed the line 28th.

"At least cyclocross ends after an hour"

After more than six hours of one of the most demanding World Championships in recent years, there was still room for humor.

When asked if sharing moves with Van der Poel reminded him of their usual winter clashes, Van Aert replied:

"No, because at least cyclocross ends after an hour."

The phrase also served to introduce a question that had been pending for some time. His road season has ended, but Van Aert will return to cyclocross.

"I will definitely return to cyclocross."

The Belgian did not specify when he will reappear or what his schedule will be, so we will still have to wait to know how many races he will compete in and whether he will include the World Championship among his goals.

Van der Poel has not yet decided what he will do this winter

Van Aert's confirmation comes just after Mathieu van der Poel also stated that he was ending his road season with the bronze he achieved in Montreal.

Van der Poel confirmed after the World Championship that it had been his last road race of the year, but his response about cyclocross was much less concrete.

"I haven't thought about the cyclocross season yet. Being a father for the first time is something very special. We'll see."

So we still do not know if the current CX World Champion will have a normal muddy season or will race only a few events.