"We were both shaking on our bikes because we were so cold" - Toon Aerts recalls epic battle with Mathieu van der Poel

In the 2019-2020 season, Mathieu van der Poel raced a full cyclocross schedule from early November to February, winning every single race but one, which was won by Toon Aerts. The current European Champion recalls a different race however, soon after, in which he had a memorable battle against the now seven-time World Champion, in the Namur World Cup which the riders will take on once again this upcoming Sunday.

It was the last year that the Dutchman had a full calendar, and on the 14th of February he had a bad day at the Ronse Hotondcross where he finished third - his only defeat in about two dozen races that winter. One week later, he was at the start of the Namur World Cup, one of the most difficult crosses of the season with plenty climbing and descending, and with temperatures of 5 degrees. Toon Aerts, winner in Ronse, went into Namur full of confidence that he could do again what no-one else could.

"Partly because I had already beaten Mathieu a few weeks earlier at the Hotond in Ronse. But also because I knew I would be even better in Namur," Aerts shared with Wielerflits. "Partly because of the course, but my position on the calendar also plays a role. You often return from training camps in Spain for that cyclocross race, where you've trained for a long time at a steady pace and with your base. You don't really need to be explosive or fast there, but purely on your base, you always excel there."

It was a race of attrition, with van der Poel suffering mechanicals and Aerts a few falls, with each taking blows from each other on separate laps. But on the last lap there was an anti-climax as Aerts crashes in a muddy descent, fracturing a few ribs in the process, but immediately losing time that was not possible to recover.

"Of course, you partly make that mistake because Mathieu rides so incredibly fast, but I still think that last crash was mainly a result of me being so severely hypothermic on the bike and losing control," he admits. "You saw that with Mathieu too, by the way. We were both shaking on our bikes because we were so cold. We weren't racing against each other anymore, but rather against ourselves. We were trying to keep ourselves awake and focused."

The at-the-time Belgian champion had the performance of a career against van der Poel who wore the rainbow jersey at the time, and it was one of the race in which he proved that the hilly courses are his specialty. "I really should have won, especially because Mathieu had some bad luck and punctures. But I shouldn't have caused those crashes myself," he rues. However it was a memorable race, one that continues to be brought up today. 

This Sunday van der Poel begins his cross season in Namur and Aerts is certain to be present and amongst the main favourites. Could we see a repetition of 2019?

"Even though I didn't win, it stuck with a lot of people. Even fellow riders who were still juniors at the time sometimes tell me how fantastic they thought that race was. It was also a very good period for me, which I look back on fondly. Of course, I was at the top of my game, but competing with Mathieu van der Poel hasn't been possible for many riders since," he concluded.