The duel between Van Aert and Van der Poel ends with a hard crash for the Belgian

The misfortunes continue to accompany Wout van Aert. We had already warned at the end of the women's race of the Exact Cross in Mol that the snow could affect the development of the race, which ended up being decided, just when we were savoring an outcome that promised to be epic, by a hard fall of Wout van Aert that led him to abandon and that, within the bad, allowed Felipe Orts to achieve a commendable podium on a truly hellish day.

Van der Poel adds another victory after the hard fall that prevented Van Aert from putting up a fight

The bad luck continues for Wout van Aert, who is unable to put together a complete race. In the Exact Cross in Mos, this time it was not mechanical issues that left him out of the fight for victory, but a hard fall, caused by the harsh conditions in which the event took place, under heavy snowfall that left the circuit in a very precarious situation.

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The race started off very quickly with Toon Aerts, Felipe Orts, Mathieu van der Poel, and Wout van Aert setting a strong pace that quickly broke the race apart. Van Aert was leading the charge, even trying to break away after cresting the steepest climb of the course. In any case, the group remained compact until, on the third lap, Van der Poel took the lead and, on the longest sandy stretch, managed to break away solo, seemingly sealing the race as we have come to expect.

However, at the beginning of the fourth lap, the Dutchman suffered a small fall that put him back in the sights of Van Aert, who, sensing an opportunity, made an incredible lap to catch up to Van der Poel's wheel.

The fall of Van Aert before his abandonment a few minutes later #LesRP pic.twitter.com/QU9q2uxxFi

— Eurosport France (@Eurosport_FR) January 2, 2026

An intense marking would begin between the two in the following laps until, starting the seventh lap, Van Aert lost the front wheel in a fast corner where the surface alternated between dirt and cement and went down in a hard fall. He got up visibly in pain and upon passing through the pit, he had no choice but to put a foot down as he could barely pedal anymore.

There the story of the race would end as Mathieu van der Poel simply had to avoid mistakes during the remaining two laps without having to worry much since his immediate pursuer, Toon Aerts, was far behind and also suffered a small fall. Van Aert's abandonment granted a commendable podium to Felipe Orts on a truly demanding day.

Exact Cross Mol Classification

1. Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech) 1h00’05’’
2. Toon Aerts (Charles Liegeois-Deschacht) +1’23’’
3. Felipe Orts (Ridley) +1’41’’
4. Jordan Wyseure (Crelan-Corendon) +2’35’’
5. Thomas Mein (Hope Factory Racing) +3’45’’
6. Danny van Lierop (ZZR-Parkhotel-Orange Babies) +3’55’’
7. Keije Solen (Wanty-Nippo-Re Uz) +4’00’’
8. Michael Boros (Elkov Kasper) +4’03’’
9. Tom Meeusen +4’08’’
10. Wout Janssen (Cyclis-Van den Plas) +4’19’’