Van Aert jokes after another beating from Van der Poel: "Now I know how the rest of the peloton feels"

In the X2O Trophy race of Koksijde - also known as the Flemish Dune Cross - there was again no stopping Mathieu van der Poel. Pim Ronhaar finished a commendable second, nearly a minute and a half behind, while Wout van Aert had to settle for third place, about 105 seconds behind the maestro from Alpecin-Deceuninck. IDLProCycling.com was there all day in West Flanders and recorded Van Aert's insights!

"It's really tough this time. The intermediate sections are really muddy. I've never seen it this bad in Koksijde. The goal, as in all other crosses, is just to do as well as possible. It's a very nice race, which I've already ridden often. I'm really looking forward to it." That was Van Aert's preview, who ultimately crossed the finish line third, just a stone's throw away from the Belgian coast.

In Koksijde, Van Aert was mainly focused on keeping Van der Haar and Vermeersch behind him

The 29-year-old Belgian had quite some bad luck at the start, as he slipped out of his clip pedal, thus spending the entire race in a chasing position. "I had to sprint to stay up front. That was a bit too much, because I dived into the sand with a very high heart rate. Van der Poel was, as usual, in good shape. I soon opted for my own pace, which wasn't very high," he commented to the cycling press present.

Van Aert, riding for Visma | Lease a Bike (formerly Jumbo-Visma), had his hands full during the cross with Lars van der Haar (fourth) and Gianni Vermeersch (fifth). The two pulled away, after which Van Aert had to work hard to rectify the situation. Eventually, he caught up with Van der Haar entering the penultimate round, then left the Dutch champion behind. "I suddenly heard along the way that I was close behind Ronhaar. I didn't expect that, as I was mainly focused on that third place and keeping Van der Haar and Vermeersch behind me. I still had a small chance to become second. The last sand section was crucial in this context, but I didn't do well there."

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During a three-week internship in Spain, Van Aert will race in Benidorm, put in the hours, and mainly focus on basic training

The Belgian, in a conversation with the press, also made an assessment of his cyclo-cross season, which is almost over. "In the last two races, in Baal and here in Koksijde, I did not find the good feeling I had in Hulst again. I don't have an immediate explanation for that. It was okay, but the feeling was certainly not great," he first says about the race in Koksijde. "But overall, it was of course a strange winter, because I consciously did not set a goal for those cyclo-cross races. Yet, I wanted to do as well as possible, so I often had to adapt to the legs I had. That's just how it was, although it wasn't always easy. So, it's easy to say that I had better legs in previous seasons, but anyway, it was very nice to dive into cyclo-cross again. I achieved a beautiful victory in Heusden-Zolder, saw a lot of people along the course, and it was very nice to meet my fans again."

"Now I know how the rest of the peloton feels," Van Aert then says, laughing, when "a new beating" from MVDP is mentioned. "I myself will now first take a weekend off. After that, we will go to Spain with the team, where I will stay for three weeks and mainly focus on basic training. During the Christmas period, I indeed did a heavy block. Last year, I kept doing cyclo-cross, even up to the training camp, and then went straight on. That was a bit too much. So now, a few days of rest are coming up first. I will also take part in thecyclo-cross of Benidorm because we are in the area, I like to ride it, and it fits perfectly into the schedule. In Spain, it will be mainly about putting in the hours."