Wout van Aert comes up short in Belgian Gravel National Championships - Visma | lease a Bike rider loses out to best friend
CyclingSunday, 16 August 2026 at 17:09
Wout van Aert made his gravel return to racing just less than a week before the Vuelta a Espana, but came up short. The Visma | Lease a bike rider won't be too upset however, as he was bested by best friend Daan Soete.
The friends ripped up the championships, one of van Aert's favourite disciplines, before the Ridley Racing rider pulled away from him in the final lap to win 29 seconds ahead of the Paris Roubaix champion. Soete opened the gap with about 2.5 kilometers to go and rode solo to glory.
Before the race, van Aert stressed that the participation resembled a safer day out than training on public roads or racing in a high-speed WorldTour race such as the ADAC Cyclassics Hamburg on Sunday, favouring a pressure-free stretch of the legs just six days before the Vuelta.
Several other road riders or recently retired professionals also featured in the championships. Soudal Quick-step Devo rider Stan van Tricht finished in fourth while 2026 Tour de France multiple stage winner Tim Merlier finished in eighth. The full results can be viewed here.
Van Aert sees gravel as less dangerous than racing on roads
Ahead of the race, van Aert seemed relaxed as he spoke about his build-up to La Vuelta: “I’ve been looking forward to this day for a while,” Van Aert told Sporza before the start. “I expect a lot of supporters because you don’t often get to race this close to home.
“The most important thing today is to enjoy myself,” Van Aert said. “This race is not going to change much about my career.”
“At some point the competitive instinct will take over and you want to try to win. There are always dangers, even when you go training on public roads. I’m not afraid, but I’m not going to take unnecessary risks either.”
Wout van Aert has regularly raced on gravel
Tour de France disappointment
Reflecting on his Tour de France disappointment as he missed out following an elbow infection in June, van Aert sees the glass half full after taking three stage wins and the overall win in Denmark.
Things are looking up for the Visma man as he targets more stage wins on the roads of La Vuelta over the next three weeks.
“Missing the Tour was obviously a setback,” he said. “I needed some time to get back to a good level, but the Tour of Denmark went better than expected. Everything since then has gone well too.”
Gavin QuinnCycling Journalist
Gavin Quinn is a cycling journalist and ultra-distance cyclist with a BA in Journalism from Dublin City University. Formerly the Press & Communications Officer for Cycling Ireland, Gavin has worked inside the national team at the World Championships and has reported for the Irish Mirror, Mirror UK, and The42.
His expertise is backed by elite-level access, having interviewed stars like Sam Bennett and Ben Healy, as well as immense personal endurance. In 2025, he completed a 12,000km solo cycle from Ireland to Vietnam, following a 4,600km tour across Europe. From the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix to the gradients of the Tourmalet, Gavin’s writing focuses on the "romance and brutality" of the sport. Having visited 50+ countries, he brings a global, cultural perspective to his coverage of the pro peloton for CyclingUpToDate.
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- Movistar would be a good fit. The team is Spanish and Carapas speaks Spanish and understands the nuances of that language. He won the Giro with them. Cian Uijtdebroeks has not been the rider that they hoped he would be. I know there was a bit of falling out between Carapaz and Movistar. I doubt that would stop him signing.Cyclingsbestfan16-08-2026
- It is not IMPOSSIBLE, it just takes good organisation and the right volunteers. Either you use a rolling staff you ferry around in vehicles along alternative routes to place them ahead in time, or you use a rolling staff (who understand the concept of the broom wagon) on motorbikes on the race course. Alternatively, you provide spare motorcyclists or convoy vehicles to stay ahead of those ejected from the peleton to help protect riders from unforeseen dangers. In fact, it should be an option for ANY courtesy (even VIP) or publicity vehicle to be designated by commisaires to accompany riders at the back should the need arise. Gone are the days when you had to rely on walkie talkies with limited range, now everyone is joinable instantly anywhere so it’s just a matter of ORGANISING and WILL Most of all, you design courses that don’t have more side entrances than you can handle or block (lumps of concrete are no longer expensive or difficult to spread around and far harder to get past than the typical roadside barrier many will just shove aside impatiently.Mistermaumau16-08-2026
- I think the race organizers need to get more creative. recruit volunteers - unpaid people from local towns, cyclists perhaps. put someone at every crossing in a race shirt or whatever. give them swag. let them congregate before of after the races with the cyclists. I’ve raced sailboats, running races and cycling events. It is common, and an honor for the volunteers, to give back to their sport. many years ago during the Pan American games I volunteered to work the sailing course. It was awesome to see it all. Get local cyclists to help out. I would love to volunteer to help at a crossing, get swag, meet cyclists and see their bikes, see the full celebration of a race, the podium. there is no creativity, just finger pointing. and while your idea makes sense, to a degree, it could still happen. the motor cars can’t even keep with with him descending. it could have been a car going slow in the same direction, in his dedicated lane, blind corner, and he rear ends them. same tragic results.mij16-08-2026
- WVA has such a great attitude, what an awesome guy for the sport.mij16-08-2026
- all of this is possible with one thing - MONEY. I’m assuming these amateur races are run on a shoestring budget. the biggest issue is the economic model of cycling is so screwed up. millions of spectators get to watch the TdF - for free. just walk up the road. I don’t know the full TV deal, but I don’t think there is adequate revenue sharing. And the big money makers, like the ASO race organizers share nothing (again assumption) with smaller race organizers. teams and riders can’t pay - most teams are close to broke and trying to get sponsors. and of course the litany of complaints against the UCI are valid - ban the super tuck, sock height, bar width, etc. what money the UCI has seems to be allocated to the dumbest things. banning the super tuck, limiting gear ratio, making handlebars super wide, with the right socks does absolutely nothing when a car is on a course and hits a cyclist head on.mij16-08-2026
- EF should not let him go. They should insist on him fulfilling his contract. It’s not a good look for Carapaz to just leave because he’s getting more money. He performed well in TdF because of Ben Healy who sacrificed a lot for Carapaz to get the results that he did.
PogiFan2Day16-08-2026 - The only team who would want him, who has spare money and has good relations with is Ineos . Movistar is out of question. UAE dont need him. No other team that require that kind of rider has money lying around to pay for contract breaking.abstractengineer16-08-2026
- i think riders who have been dropped and are alone need to start following traffic rules to avoid these incidents. Pushing speed in a downhill just increases risk with no benefitsabstractengineer16-08-2026
- This is just poor excuxes we dont need that. What happened in Volta Portugal hasnt happened before, at any race and shall never happen. Volta Portugal is not fit to host a race at any capacity going forward.miguel16-08-2026
- As much as I admire his chatacter and the resilience that forged his way into cycling, I believe he should've end his cycling career after 2024 vuelta, because it's hard for me to see any more big results from him at the moment.BenAflec16-08-2026
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