"I should have started training earlier" - Wout Van Aert goes head to head in a sprint against young fan during first cyclocross training

Three days before his first cyclocross race of the season, Wout van Aert got his cyclocross bike out of the shed for a training ride with his buddy Daan Soete and the young cyclocrosser Loïc Wynants, son of Van Aert's former teammate and now coach Maarten Wynants.

The aspiring cyclo-cross rider was allowed to join Van Aert and Daan Soete for a training and shared the images on Instagram (which shows him leading out Van Aert uphill). "For Wout it was his first cross training in the forest this season," says Soete at Sporza. "Together with his team he got his equipment in order."

It seems to have been a tough reality check for the three-time World championin the woods of Lichtaart. "I should have started my cyclocross training earlier," Van Aert posted on Strava, after which he cycled another 77 km on the road.

"You can see that he doesn't have a race in his legs yet, but after half an hour of training he was already doing better. In Mol he will have mastered the technique again," says Ridley crosser Daan Soete.

After Mol, Loenhout (27/12), Gullegem (04/01), Dendermonde (05/01), Benidorm (19/01) and Maasmechelen (25/01) follow for Wout van Aert.