Toon Aerts delighted to be best of the race behind Mathieu van der Poel: " I had tears in my eyes "

Mathieu van der Poel wrapped up his 2024 cyclocross season with another commanding performance, taking victory at the World Cup Besançon. The rainbow jersey wearer defeated Toon Aerts, who finished in second place, with Niels Vandeputte completing the podium in third.

Reflecting on his race, Aerts described the challenges of the Besançon course, "It was difficult. The climb at the back of the course is certainly something that hurts. But for the rest, it was mainly about technique. In Hulst, a week ago, I was still really searching for technique. I had a hard time finding my way then. But today it went surprisingly well. I have to say that this circuit is similar to that of Liévin, so that gives me confidence."

Illness had impacted Aerts’ performances in recent weeks, but he showed determination to push through, "I may not be fully recovered yet, I feel that everything is still coming loose in my nose. But at some point, you have to go all-in again. That was today," said the 31-year-old rider.

Aerts also spoke about how his recent struggles had affected his confidence, "The confidence had completely disappeared. If you have to skip a race like Loenhout – six, seven kilometres from my doorstep – I had tears in my eyes when I had to make that decision. Riding and winning in Loenhout is a childhood dream. But that gave me the courage today to make that hour a full one."

In the closing stages, Aerts maintained his composure as Vandeputte challenged for second place, "I didn't really get nervous about that. I didn't come here today with the ambition to win. You know that a Mathieu van der Poel starts here. And that Niels Vandeputte can do this very well. But I wanted to secure that podium, so I looked more at Joran than at Niels."

Aerts also explained his approach to managing the race dynamics,"Niels wasn't going to take over either, because Mathieu, his teammate, was gone. I just kept doing my own thing. I rode a high pace, so that Joran didn't come back. And eventually I was able to get Niels in a gap."