"I feel for him enormously; it's insane" - Johan Bruyneel laments bad luck that hits Wout van Aert continuously
Cyclocross
This week cyclocross has been hit with the tragic news that Eli Iserbyt has had to end his career due to an iliac artery injury that is now untreatable. The discipline may lose Mathieu van der Poel if he wins his eighth world title in Hulst; whilst Johan Bruyneel believes that the crashes and risks Wout van Aert takes in the discipline may also have him make the decision to let it go.
At the time being, the Belgian still hasn't gotten back to the bike, 8 days after his season-ending crash at the Exact Cross Mol. Van Aert had started the snowy race strongly and had caught up with Mathieu van der Poel after his initial attack.
The race was proving to be thrilling with unique visuals, and it was the first real duel between van Aert and van der Poel in the winter. However it ended abruptly when van Aert slid out in a corner and crashed.
"It seemed like he was on par with Mathieu van der Poel. If you look at the last two or three years, it's been a while since that happened. Van der Poel normally has the advantage, but this is what we all wanted. Now we'll never know," Johan Bruyneel said in The Move podcast.
Wout van Aert at the 2026 Exact Cross Mol, moments before he crashed
Putting a foot down whilst crashing led the Belgian to suffer an ankle fracture, which will require weeks off the bike and off the road. It has ended his cyclocross season and compromises his entire preparation for the spring classics, his absolute goal.
The Belgian pundit doesn't argue that he will miss them, but form will be a question. "Three months is very realistic. It's not a serious fracture. But it's a huge setback for the classics, if he can even make it. But his preparation has been compromised".
Not only will Van Aert's form be compromised, but his confidence as well. The Belgian already struggles with position in increasingly more dangerous peloton since his 2024 Dwars door Vlaanderen crash. This fall will only continue the set of obstacles that he has been tackling.
In 2024 the Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider suffered a fall at the Belgian classic and then once again at the Vuelta a España which derailed his year completely. In 2025 he fell ill before the Giro d'Italia but managed to have a somewhat regular season - although the start followed his recovery from the Vuelta.
Now back in the sidelines, it provides another opportunity for Mathieu van der Poel to grow the gap between the two trough more training and better health. "It's definitely not good. It's a major setback: he seems doomed. Just when he seems to be closing in on Van der Poel... I feel for him enormously; it's insane."
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Bruyneel believes van Aert may stop racing cyclocross
Van Aert's schedule may definitely be changed following his injuries, but his overall outlook should remain the same. His Tour de France participation hasn't been put in doubt, Bruyneel even argues that this improves his chances of being well at the Grand Boucle: "It's a guarantee that we'll see Wout van Aert at his best in the Tour de France".
However, the toll it takes to make so many recoveries is high, and it is time spent recovering his level instead of improving it, which ultimately poses a big issue towards his level in the road peloton. "The mental strength of such a rider is on a different level. He has to come back every time, and he will do so again, I have no doubt about it".
Van der Poel had previously hinted at potentially skipping a cyclocross season if he were to win the upcoming World Championships - something which seems very likely. Bruyneel believes that, for different reasons, Van Aert may follow the same route:
"I can see him saying 'you know what, this is it. I'll limit the risks.' But usually, crashes in cyclocross aren't too serious. They happen a lot, but at low speed and not on asphalt." However, he doesn't have much confidence in that, arguing that both love the discipline and may not want to leave it if it's their choice.
"If you look at Van der Poel and Van Aert, you see they do this because they love it. They love the sport, the atmosphere, and the fans. They don't do it for the money, even if they get paid a pretty penny. But it's nothing compared to their other contracts. They simply love cyclocross."
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Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- they have no expertise with classics, they have no leaders in classics. the classics is dominated by the few Fuori Classe riders where other riders are left with scraps. the Hiring , the salaries dont make sense at all. Same problem as Man Utd. over paid players, egos, very little performanceabstractengineer13-11-2026
- Contract year means you gotta win, at least collect UCI points, helping be damnedabstractengineer13-11-2026
- Arensman is their best rider and he is paid very less in comparisonabstractengineer13-11-2026
- I'm not trying to argue with you but if you didn't see Del Toro struggling in the Tour I'll pay for some glasses for you lol. He struggled so much that Tadej missed winning stage 15, Tadej also dropped the pace along some stages to help Del Toro hold onto the podium. Now he may have been sick, that is a possibility, but he definitely struggled. You have a nice weekend as well brother.awp13-11-2026
- Im not copmaring him to jonas palmares...but current level of power and again like you even pointed out 19sec difference and on other ocassions del toro dropping him. Its evidently their close and based on both their different trajectory its self explanatory...where we are next year.And Del Toro didnt struggle if getting a podium in his first TDF at 22 year old is struggling you sure dont know how to be objective haha. But have a good weekend this is so dumb to discuss as its not even a discussin in reality as facts speak for themselves of what were actually speaking of - and self explanatory.miguel13-11-2026
- fingers crossed. my son has a poster of wout and mathieu battling each other at the beach at ostend up in his room. would be great to see them again there!Ketterechts13-11-2026
- This Giro is very strange in it's circular route. If you were to have stage starting in Trieste and ending atop Monte Zoncolan (end stage 20) you'd get a stage only 145 km long
Rafionain-Glas13-11-2026 - When Thomas gets the bullet from INEOS he can get a job as a comedian.
Senna196013-11-2026 - Right on. The more the merrier.Occam13-11-2026
- Remember, Del Toro struggled in this Tour. He is great, no doubt about that, but comparing him to a four time gt winner is absurd at this point. He has the potential. We'll have to see how he develops.awp13-11-2026
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F*CK. Duel gone. 😢 🇳🇱 Mathieu van der Poel could just avoid a crash in the Felipe Orts corner but 🇧🇪 Wout van Aert couldn't. It's Van Aert's first DNF ever in an Elite race. Hopefully his injury isn't too bad. 🍀
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