"It won’t be a day that I’ll enjoy for a long time" - Toon Aerts looks beyond the European Championships in his comeback

Toon Aerts arrived "only" fourteenth at the European Championships in Pontevedra last Sunday. Normally, that's not a result that would satisfy the Continental champion from 2016/17 season. But after the two-year suspension, the 31-year-old Belgian has learned to appreciate even the small results.

"Of course I didn’t have the best day," he returns to the warm race at the microphone of WielerFlits. "After all it was a course that didn’t suit me. The warm weather wasn’t my thing either. A bad start made the story complete. It won’t be a day that I’ll enjoy for a long time. But anyway, no problem. I did my best and I’m happy with how the weekend went."

"I also saw it coming a bit. On the other hand, it was a course where a lot was possible. In the end, it didn't come to a standstill much, but with such a fast course that would have been possible. So I did have the hope of getting into the race and somehow fighting at the front. But in retrospect, when you put all those factors together, we are not surprised that it wasn't a top performance."

Aerts can generally look back on a solid start to the season with a podium result in the Koppenbergcross. "Conditionally, everything was fine. The same in terms of technique, which I was a bit afraid of after a long period without really racing much. But I also often had a bit of bad luck at the beginning of the race, partly because of my lousy starting position. In Essen, I should have normally taken my first podium, but I was rammed by another rider. A few other things happened that made it take a bit longer. But I have to take it step by step. I am looking forward to the future with hope."