Wout van Aert officially ruled out of Cyclocross World Championships: "Participation is completely out of the question"

Any hopes of Wout van Aert competing at the Cyclo-cross World Championships in Hulst were extinguished on Friday following a heavy crash at the Zilvermeercross Mol. The three-time world champion fell hard in the final part of the race, suffering a sprained ankle in which a small fracture that required surgery was also detected.

“There was never any certainty that Wout van Aert would start at the World Championships, but after what happened yesterday in Mol, participation in the world championship is completely out of the question,” national coach Angelo De Clercq said in quotes gathered by Nieuwsblad.

“Wout still had two beautiful races on his programme with Zonhoven and the Belgian Championships. This ankle injury also means that the preparation for his road season takes a hit. That is particularly bitter for him,” he added.

Van Aert’s absence further complicates Belgium’s World Championships selection, as he is not the only top rider that has been injured in the last weeks.

“We have had a black week as far as the national selection is concerned,” De Clercq said. “First there was Laurens Sweeck, who crashed on Monday in Loenhout and suffered a serious shoulder injury. Yesterday Wout van Aert crashed, and then there is also Eli Iserbyt, who has been out for quite some time.”

Iserbyt has been out since last year. He was repeatedly suffering nerve pain in his left leg during the past season, which in February led to a diagnosis of a narrowed iliac artery. After a major operation and six weeks of rest, he believed the problem had been solved, but the pain returned when he resumed training in May. He has not competed in almost one year and his coach already confirmed that his career is at serious risk.

“That is three of the nine riders who competed at the World Championships last year and who would all have had medal chances in Hulst, had they been able to start. I call that a major loss.”

De Clercq added that team selection remains uncertain, as the number of riders Belgium can call is not defined yet. “It is also still unclear whether Mathieu van der Poel will win the overall World Cup standings. Only after Hoogerheide will I know whether I can take eight or nine riders to Hulst. Hopefully the Belgian team will be spared further bad luck from now on,” the national coach concluded.