the essential
Wout van Aert in the middle of the (rr)e. The Belgian from Visma-Lease a Bike scored a second victory in two days during the 9th round of the cyclo-cross world cup. In the absence of Van der Poel, he easily won in a race which will be remembered much more for its Dantean conditions than for its sporting interest.
No Van der Poel, no problem for Wout van Aert. For the second time this weekend, the Belgian won in front of his home crowd this Sunday, January 5. And this time, he crushed the competition since he won with more than a minute in advance.
Above all, this 9th round of the cyclo-cross world cup gave rise to extremely impressive images due to the weather conditions.
Difficult to recognize Wout van Aert under this thick mask of mud.
We can’t even see the Visma-Lease a Bike jersey that he wears all season (and for a long time to come since he signed a lifetime contract with the team).
It was on a ground dotted with huge puddles that van Aert dominated his competitors. The ground was so waterlogged that the participants’ bikes sank into the mud, leaving large furrows.
It is in particular by minimizing the number of passages on foot that the Belgian got the better of the competition. On several occasions he was the only one to pass certain bumps on his bike.
Having fallen into a difficult to negotiate bend, we simply no longer recognize the 2016, 2017 and 2018 cyclo-cross world champion when he crosses the finish line to celebrate his victory.