Not present in Baal on Tuesday, Lars Van der Haar will not start the 6th round of the X2O Trophy this Friday in Koksijde. Victorious during the first round of the competition in Oudenaarde, the Dutchman was battling with That is, Iserby and now sees his chances of winning overall disappear. Its sports director, Eric Braescame back for Cycling flash on the reason for this absence, motivated by the imminent arrival of the national championships. “We had to do it so as not to jeopardize the championships” he explained while Lars Van der Haar will try to achieve a fifth success during its national cyclo-cross championship.
Video – Lars Van der Haar, 4ème à Cool derrière Van der Poel
A long-standing knee injury
Present during the last round of World Cup in Gavere where he managed to grab a 4th place, Lars Van der Haar aggravated an already existing knee injury. “He’s been having problems with his knee for a while.” admitted the sports director of the Baloise Glowi Lions. “It wasn't serious, but in Gavere he was injured again during the reconnaissance. We thought it was going to be a matter of a few days, but that he would be fine again in Besançon. However, Lars felt during training in Besançon that things were still not going well. That's why we decided to abandon this cross and concentrate on Diegem. But unfortunately, in Diegem, he was not at 100. %.”
Following his 6th place during the Super prestige from Diegem, the Dutchman was forced to take forced rest. “We consulted the doctor, because there were even more reactions. Then we decided to skip Baal and Koksijde, as unfortunate as that was. Lars really wanted to ride here for his ranking and for our new sponsor. But the The team doctor said it was definitely the right decision.” Now it's time to rest for the former European champion in 2021, a short rest since he should get on his bike again on January 4 during the next round of Super prestige. “We hope he will start at Gullegem. There he also has a ranking to defend recalled Eric Braes while his foal occupies 2nd place overall in Super prestige. “The next few days will be very important. He won't train much, but he will rest. And then we hope he will be recovered before the weekend.”
