“I was determined to turn it into a duel” – Wout van Aert left empty-handed as punctures rob Loenhout showdown with Van der Poel

Wout van Aert admitted frustration after his race at the X2O Trofee Azencross Loenhout unravelled despite feeling strong enough to take the fight to Mathieu van der Poel.

“I felt good and that’s why I decided to take the initiative early on,” Van Aert said afterwards in an official Visma press release. “Mathieu and I were able to build up a lead quickly. He put me under pressure a few times, but I was determined to turn it into a duel today.”

One day after the World Cup race in Dendermonde, the riders lined up again for another fast contest in Loenhout, a venue where Van Aert has enjoyed considerable success in the past.

The Belgian rider from Team Visma | Lease a Bike was sharp from the start, immediately featuring in a large leading group as the pace remained high and the field stayed compact.

The race took shape in the third lap. Van Aert launched a powerful acceleration, and only Van der Poel was able to respond. The pair quickly opened a gap to the rest of the field, shaping the contest into the anticipated head-to-head battle. “Mathieu and I were able to build up a lead quickly,” Van Aert explained, underlining how natural the move felt given his sensations on the bike.

That duel, however, was short-lived. Halfway through the race, Van Aert suffered a puncture at a particularly unfortunate moment, far from the pit area, allowing the chasers to close the gap. Even after being caught, he was able to reassert himself. “In the group behind, I again felt I was the strongest,” he said.

Misfortune struck again just as Van Aert tried to force another split. A second puncture, once more far from the pits, definitively ended any chance of salvaging a result at the front. “I punctured twice at very bad moments, far from the pit area,” Van Aert said. “That’s disappointing.”

In the end, Van Aert finished outside the top ten, a result that belied the strength he had shown earlier in the race. Despite the setbacks, he drew some encouragement from the atmosphere in Loenhout. “The support from the fans along the course kept me motivated,” he added.

For Van Aert, Loenhout was a race of unfinished business. The legs were there, the intent was clear, and the duel he set out to create briefly materialised. What remained was a lingering sense of what might have been, had the race not been decided by punctures rather than power.