"For him, it's just sh*t that in his generation he's come up against someone like Mathieu" - Bart Wellens shows empathy for Wout van Aert after another 2nd place

Although Wout van Aert was clearly better than all but one of the rest of the pack on Sunday afternoon in Lievin at the 2025 Cyclocross World Championships, his old rival Mathieu van der Poel again proved just too strong. As such, the Belgian had to settle for another 2nd place behind his Dutch rival.

Van Aert has three cyclocross Rainbow Jerseys to his name from 2016, 2017 and 2018, he has now finished runner-up to Van der Poel at the World Championship on five separate occasions. Following this latest disappointment, Van Aert's compatriot and a former world champion himself, Bart Wellens has shared his empathy with the Team Visma | Lease a Bike star. "How many times has he been second behind Mathieu!? For him, it's just shit that in his generation he's come up against someone like Mathieu," Wellens laments to Het Nieuwsblad. "Because otherwise he would have been at that Erik De Vlaeminck record too."

Despite not being able to stop the rampant Van der Poel, Wellens was still impressed by Van Aert's performance in Lievin, especially given his disastrous start. "Wout had undoubtedly imagined his start differently on Sunday," concludes the ex-pro turned expert analyst. "He rode beautiful lines, there was power on it but it all still paled when you saw how Mathieu rode around. Wout never got the chance to prove he could hold Mathieu's wheel."

For his part, Van Aert was full of praise for Van der Poel afterwards, showing his respect in his post-race interview. “It is not without reason that I took my hat off to him at the finish,” Van Aert said, giving warm admiration to his long-time rival. “Nobody thought that the record would be equalled. In a way I am also glad that I was there today. Mathieu first, me second. As if it was meant to be.”