Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) in action at Antwerpen 2022 (Image credit: Getty Images)
Wout van Aert said he was surprised to take second in his first cyclocross outing of the season , beaten only by an impressive Mathieu van der Poel performance in the sand in Antwerp on Sunday.
The Jumbo-Visma star finished fourth at the Road World Championships just 10 weeks ago and is back after just five weeks of training, competing for cyclocross honours.
Van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), who started his cyclocross season a week earlier, rode away from his Belgian rival on the second lap of the World Cup event in Antwerp to win by 23 seconds.
However, Van Aert said later that he was "satisfied" with an unexpected podium finish at the top level of cyclocross on his first outing.
Injured Mathieu van der Poel beats Wout Van Aert to win thrilling World Cup Antwerpen How to watch the 2022-23 cyclo-cross season – streaming and schedule Wout van Aert eyes return to Strade Bianche in 2023 Tom Pidcock struggling to match ‘weight and power’ of Van der Poel and Van Aert
"It was an unexpected podium result,” said the three-time elite World Champion. “I feel way better than I expected before, my pace during the race was quite steady which is a really good thing."I surprised myself today. I didn’t think I’d be on the podium and keep up the pace for a whole race. I felt good and tried to drive just below my limit.”Van […]
Continue reading the original article at: www.cyclingnews.com