"These are the days for which I wanted to become a crosser when I was younger" - Wout van Aert back to his brilliant best in Dendermonde
Cyclocross
There is no doubt about it now, Wout van Aert is back to his brilliant best! Completing a weekend double, the Belgian secured his first World Cup victory of the season in an absolute mudfest at World Cup Dendermonde.
Due to the rain, the course had developed into a real swamp in Dendermonde. That didn't slow Van Aert though, who surged clear of his rivals relatively early on and ended up victorious by over a minute from his young compatriot Emiel Verstrynge. "I added these races to my program to see where I stand. It turned out to be good, I can't make anything else of it. I'm very happy with it," Van Aert reflected afterwards in his post-race interview, positive for the coming Spring. "This course is very far from what road cycling is all about, Gullegem yesterday and certainly the explosive cross in Loenhout last week are better incentives. But you also have the fun factor. These are the days for which I wanted to become a crosser when I was younger."
"On a day like this, so many people come out. Feeling that you still have so many supporters, that does something to me. I want to thank everyone for the encouragement," he adds in conclusion. "Tomorrow I have a day of rest, on Tuesday I will go to Spain for a training camp with the team. It will be good to train again in better temperatures."
Read also
| 01 | van Aert Wout | - | 01:02:49 |
| 02 | Verstrynge Emiel | - | + 01:20 |
| 03 | Wyseure Joran | - | + 01:41 |
| 04 | Aerts Toon | - | + 01:52 |
| 05 | Vanthourenhout Michael | - | + 02:24 |
| 06 | Ronhaar Pim | - | + 02:43 |
| 07 | Kuhn Kevin | - | + 02:49 |
| 08 | Nys Thibau | - | + 03:14 |
| 09 | Mason Cameron | - | + 03:15 |
| 10 | Hendrikx Mees | - | + 03:35 |
| 11 | Iserbyt Eli | - | + 03:46 |
| 12 | Orts Lloret Felipe | - | + 03:52 |
| 13 | Vandebosch Toon | - | + 03:54 |
| 14 | Dubau Joshua | - | + 03:54 |
| 15 | Boros Michael | - | + 04:09 |
| 16 | Kamp Ryan | - | + 04:32 |
| 17 | Van Kessel Corne | - | + 04:51 |
| 18 | Sommer Lars | - | + 04:55 |
| 19 | van der Haar Lars | - | + 05:06 |
| 20 | Viezzi Stefano | - | + 05:13 |
| 21 | Vandenberghe Viktor | - | + 05:30 |
| 22 | Ferdinande Anton | - | + 06:04 |
| 23 | Vandeputte Niels | - | + 06:10 |
| 24 | De Brauwere Sil | - | + 06:26 |
| 25 | Remijn Senna | - | + 07:30 |
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- he can do what he wants, and if he can state his feelings, so can I. and my feeling is, it is fun to see the best riders in the biggest race. there are always stages to go after. and racing is more fun with an MVDP to cheer for. and to the point of the other guy, he raced 7 races prior. he will do 11 or so cross races. yes he races to win, but as a fan I would really love to see him in the race. I'm being greedy admittedly. to the point of vappaxbipmv, he isn't exactly racing his legs off with the races he has been doing.mij07-01-2025
- Well not his last year, but my argument is he can't he win the Tour. Remember this thread during the upcoming Tour, btw, I do admire Primoz.awp07-01-2025
- He did a convincing display at Ancares doing peak numbers even without optimal preparation in a team that is weaker in grand tours. Sure he's getting older but the narrative that he's in his last year is ridiculous.alsene07-01-2025
- He is not anti-doping. He is pro-whining. He is more than happy to cheer for the dopers he likes and believe in the miracles he likes.
MarkFour06-01-2025 - Froome has found a genuine way to race slow .. no further gears restrictions needed for him. And speaking about safety - this overnight packfodder to GT winner should start with holding the tt bars while descending with both hands. What a clown!!
UltimateOpportunist06-01-2025 - Nice, yeah, if you’re around a 6-7% gradient when they attack you’re not going to see much, it’s not for nothing the steepest sections are so crowded. If on TV you see an overweight fan running along for more than 30m you know they’re nowhere near that speed there;-)Mistermaumau06-01-2025
- Merry Crossmas to you tooMistermaumau06-01-2025
- I respect his anti-doping stance but in trying to rehash everything he’s no longer looking at the changes. It’ not just one or two riders who suddenly improved, the whole peleton has gone through an upgrade. For sure there are still cheaters, may e even amongst the very best but a large part of the improvement is generic and explainable. Even racing itself has changed. There is progress in EVERY sport, constantly, why would cycling be the odd one out?Mistermaumau06-01-2025
- Don’t doubt your cynical side ;-) It’s hardly likely to be true either and he is hardly in a position to judge for others who is best this or that. If he’d just said, he was always good to ME that would have been more truthful and then everyone could draw their own conclusion, now he’s basically shot himself in the foot for nothing (as far as we know).Mistermaumau06-01-2025
- He's the best teammate with Domen Novak cruising Pogi to become Cycling World Champion.
James2631806-01-2025