Trainer Van Aert will be happy: Two young fans return Van Aert's lost watch – "There are still honest people in the world"

In the final lap of the Cyclo-cross World Championship in Liévin, France, something remarkable happened to Wout van Aert. The Belgian rider, on his way to a silver medal, lost his watch. Two young fans returned the item safely to its owner.

While Van Aert was busy giving multiple interviews after the championship and the podium ceremony, the press officer of the Belgian team was tapped on the shoulder. "They found Wout's watch," was the message they got from the French organization.

At that moment, Van Aert was asked whether his coach at Visma | Lease a Bike, Mathieu Heijboer, would still be able to do his job now that Van Aert couldn’t upload his data. "Even worse," he laughed, "is that I might be five kilometers short at the end of the year to reach a nice round number. That’s how those guys think, you know. I’m serious."

Two young fans find the watch and take a photo with Van Aert

After speaking with the written press, including IDLProCycling.com, two young fans walked into the mixed zone, holding the watch in their hands. Van Aert took a good look to make sure it was his, and then saw that everything was in order. "Thank you guys. Where did you find the watch?" he asked the boys. "On the descent," the two French youngsters replied.

And just like that, Van Aert had his watch back, meaning he could upload his race data for analysis as usual. When he crossed the finish line, he had already tried to stop the timer on his watch, but by then, it was already lying somewhere on the course. "Do you want to take a photo?" he asked. The two happy boys eagerly agreed. "There are still honest people in the world," Van Aert laughed about the incident.

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