No, it wasn’t meant to be for Wout van Aert. His poor starting position immediately influenced the rest of the race, though it’s debatable whether he could have challenged Mathieu van der Poel even under better circumstances.
A Difficult Start
There is no doubt that Van Aert had a particularly rough start. The Belgian had to begin from the fourth row and hoped to move up quickly. However, the opposite happened—rather than gaining positions, he actually lost some.
Van Aert explained what went wrong at the start:
“I got boxed in right away, and then in the first turn, I was pushed into the barriers. There was no space to move up, so I had to wait. But at that moment, you already know it will be difficult to catch Van der Poel.”
“I was on the outside, and then someone crashed on the inside, creating a domino effect that sent me into the fences. I almost came to a complete stop there.”
It was an unfortunate situation, though Van Aert had anticipated it.
“I had already considered this scenario beforehand. On the other hand, it allowed me to stay calm and continue my race. With all due respect, I know I am one of the best in this field, but that doesn’t count for Van der Poel.”
Fighting Back
Despite the setback, Van Aert put in a strong performance, steadily working his way through the pack. At one point, he had a visible tear in his shorts, suggesting another problem somewhere on the course. Yet he fought his way up to fifth place, though he remained 51 seconds behind Van der Poel.
Respect for Van der Poel
A world title was never truly within reach, despite Van Aert’s strong ride.
“I don’t think I was riding much slower, but you had to count on him having bad luck. The gap was just too difficult to close.”
However, Van Aert has great respect for the now co-record holder Van der Poel.
“That’s why I (figuratively) tipped my cap to him at the finish. No one thought this record would be equaled. Mathieu first and me second—it feels like it was meant to be.”
