the essential
The Belgian Wout Van Aert signed his first success of the season in cyclo-cross by winning this Saturday, January 4 at the Superprestige in Gullegem, in the absence of his great rival, the Dutch world champion Mathieu van der Poel, forfeited following a rib injury. Above all, the race gave rise to an unusual sequence when Lars van der Haar put his shoulder back in place thanks to the saddle of his bike.
The cyclo-cross season always fascinates Cycling enthusiasts. Between Matthieu van der Poel, world champion in the discipline, and Wout van Aert, followers find two big names that they regularly walk the roads of the Tour de France in the summer. If the world champion was not there at the Superprestige in Gullegem on January 4, his rival Visma Lease a Bike took the opportunity to win for the first time this season.
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If he is only there “for pure pleasure” and with the aim of preparing for his road season, the Belgian delivered a very good race at home and in front of his fans. However, this victory was not the attraction of the day. Under capricious weather and in front of a noisy crowd, two fairly usual characteristics of cyclo-cross competitions, the Dutchman Lars van der Haar pulled off a crazy move.
While he dislocated his right shoulder during the race, he didn't have the slightest thought about dropping out. It must be said that he is only ten points behind the leader of the general classification and the double world champion (2015 and 2021) can still claim the Superprestige title.
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So he quietly knelt down in the mud, placed his shoulder on his saddle and, with remarkable precision, repositioned his painful joint before setting off again! The worst? This isn't the first time he's done this! The 33-year-old athlete therefore does it again after having already acted in this way in November 2023. Relatively little disturbed by his misadventure, he finally finished in the Top 10 of the race.
France
Cycling
