14/02/2024

"My test values are better than ever" - Toon Aerts promises fireworks this weekend as he returns to cyclocross

A two-year suspension due to a positive Letrozole test comes to an end this week for Toon Aerts. The former European Cyclocross champion returns to competition with a few races still to go, and is extremely motivated to show his worth in the end of the season.

“I'm actually tense, yes. When I wake up at night to urinate and then try to fall asleep again, I feel like it takes longer than usual. You're still working on it and you're thinking about what's coming. It feels a bit surreal at the moment that it's all going to start again. It took so long and there seemed to be no end in sight. But suddenly that end is in sight," Aerts said in an interview with Wielerflits.

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Aerts endured a long battle to try and prove his innocence, which proved unsuccessful. He and female rider Shari Bossuyt both presented a similar argument as to their positive doping result, which involved contaminated milk in the town of Flamanville. In two completely separate events, both tested positive on that one town in France, but neither could prove their innocence with certainty - with Bossuyt claiming fatigue and lack of financial resources as the cause for her stopping her attempt to cut the ban.

Aerts missed out on almost two entire cyclocross seasons, but races this weekend again with the Deschacht - Hens - Maes team. He will race the Exact Cross Sint-Niklaas and the X2O Trofee's final event in Brussels this weekend; and the Oostmalle cross on the 25th of February which ends the season.

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“Then I took a rest period and then started again in October. With a new trainer too. We worked in a very structured way. Everything went 100% as we wanted. We have done training camps and completed cross-training. We haven't overlooked anything. My form is really good at the moment," he continues.

Regarding form, the 30-year old is very motivated and positive. “I can of course compare my test results with those of previous years. I've been a pro for seven years, so I have plenty of material to compare. My test values are better than ever. So I am really at a level that is very high in my opinion."