This is how Van Aert's bike ended up in Benidorm
The Benidorm 2024 CX World Cup will be remembered for a heart-stopping start and finish. But after a great comeback and race management, Wout van Aert managed to claim victory despite a final crash that left him without the saddle.
This is how Van Aert's Cervélo R5-CX ended up at the Benidorm 2024 CX World Cup
Van der Poel was out of the fight for victory after a crash and Van Aert had already made a final attack that had left behind a persistent Michael Vannthourenhout. Everything seemed to be set for a victorious finish and to ensure nothing went wrong he decided to walk the last planks of the circuit.
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What seemed like a more conservative decision ended up in a spectacular crash that left Van Aert on the ground and struggling to get back on his bike as quickly as possible. So much so that the struggle ended up breaking the saddle of his bike and he ended up crossing the finish line only on the saddle rails.
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Luckily, Van Aert had a certain advantage over Vannthourenhout and the finish line was very close to the area where he fell, so this breakdown had no consequences on the result.
After this eventful and victorious race, Van Aert ends his cyclocross season and heads towards his road calendar.