"There was a large nail in my tyre" - Untimely puncture ends Wout van Aert's hopes at Clásica Jaén Paraiso Interior

Sadly for Wout van Aert he was unable to claim a victory at Clásica Jaén Paraiso Interior on Monday afternoon and in truth, it was through no fault of his or lack of legs after a disastrously timed puncture ended his hopes.

“I already had a puncture when entering the gravel strip. The sports director said there was a large nail in my tyre. That's the kind of flat tyre you can't do much about,” the Belgian star of Team Visma | Lease a Bike reflects in a post-race interview with HLN.

From there, the race was pretty much done for van Aert. “The race opened up the moment I crashed. There wasn't much point in keeping Sepp Kuss and Jan Tratnik waiting," he explains. "I tried again, but it didn't work. I had Tim van Dijke with me for a while, and on that climb I tried to cross. But when that didn't work, I knew it was over.”

In the end, victory went to Oier Lazkano who, despite spending the day in the breakaway, managed to hold off the chasing pack for an incredible win.