Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) strong-armed the mud and the field to win the Cyclocross World Cup in Dendermonde with a solo effort on Sunday.
Van Aert, who now has a trio of wins in Dendermonde, minced his way through heavy mud and a slow start in the opening two laps to ride away for the second victory of his abbreviated ‘cross season.
Emile Verstrynge (Crelan-Corendon) held on for second place, 1:10 back, with his teammate Joran Wyseure in third.
A seismic battle for World Cup points ensued well behind Van Aert between series leader Michael Vanthourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen-Cibel Clementines) and second-placed Toon Aerts (Deschacht-Hens-FSP), separated by 25 points. Aerts was able to distance the series leader late in the race and finished fourth overall, while Vanthourenhout rode across the line in solo fifth place.
Van Aert went straight to the broadcast area for a post-race interview, not stopping to wipe the mud from his face. Did he have fun on the course today? He simply answered, "A lot".
"Cyclocross races, while doing it sometimes you question why. It’s so difficult to concentrate, to pull it off, so great fun," said Van Aert, having gone back-to-back with victories on the weekend and saying he was happy not to have any injuries across the Superprestige Gullegem and then Dendermonde.
"It means a lot to me, that’s for sure. To be honest, I’m ahead of the schedule I had in my mind, so it’s a confidence boost to keep working to the road season."Aerts led from […]
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