Van Aert "tips his hat" to Van der Poel after disastrous start ruins his chances: "Worst-case scenario happened"

Wout van Aert saw his hopes of a fourth world title vanish after losing several positions in the opening lap. Despite an impressive comeback, which secured him silver, the Cyclo-cross World Championship in Liévin went to his rival, Mathieu van der Poel. Van Aert showed respect for the Dutchman but also acknowledged that the race could have played out differently.

“The course is changing rapidly. In just two laps, it’s already become much muddier,” Van Aert observed during his midday course reconnaissance with VTM. In the morning, the junior race took place on firm ground. “The thaw only sets in by the afternoon, which is good, but you also have to be careful because the frost is still in the ground.”

Van Aert kept his comments brief, but naturally, he was asked about the key moment of his race: the start. The Belgian team had a strategy in place to help him move quickly from the fourth row to the front. “For me, everything depends on the start—whether I can move up immediately or not,” Van Aert admitted. When asked if he still believed in the world title, he grinned knowingly and said, “Just a little bit.”

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Bad start proved costly: "I don’t think I rode much slower than him"

Moving up quickly didn’t work out for Wout van Aert. "Nothing went my way," he told Het Laatste Nieuws. "I was completely boxed in and nearly crashed into the barriers in the first corner. It took a long time before I found space to move up. I was hoping for a different scenario, but I also knew this was a possibility. I just tried to stay calm and focus on my own race."

Speaking to Sporza, the Visma | Lease a Bike rider explained more about his incident in the first corner. "I was on the outside, and someone crashed on the inside. It caused a domino effect, and I ended up in the barriers, almost coming to a complete stop. By the time I got going again, I was even further back than my starting position. It was just a matter of waiting until space opened up."

Despite the setback, Van Aert didn’t give up, especially knowing Van der Poel had already gone solo in the first lap. "The race was still long. I kept believing and tried to keep the pressure on Mathieu as much as possible. I don’t think I was much slower than him, but by the second half of the race, you realize that only bad luck on his part could change anything. As expected, I wasn’t riding faster than him—but when you’re already behind, it makes everything even harder."

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"There’s a reason I tipped my hat"

Without that early setback, the race could have been very different. "I’d have to re-watch the race, but I felt like I wasn’t losing much time to Mathieu when I had a clear path. He knows that once he opens a gap, he doesn’t have to take any risks. Chasing is completely different—you don’t race with the same belief that you can win, so you can push yourself a bit deeper."

Despite the disappointment, Van Aert has immense respect for his Dutch rival, especially now that Van der Poel has matched Erik De Vlaeminck’s record with seven world titles. "There’s a reason I tipped my hat to him at the finish. No one thought this record would ever be equaled. In a way, I’m also glad I was part of it today—Mathieu first, me second. It almost feels like it was meant to be."

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Wout van Aert

What Van Aert feared did happen: "Worst-case scenario"

And yet, despite finishing second, Van Aert seemed happier than ever with silver. "Uhm, how should I put this..." he said, as journalists—including IDLProCycling.com—prompted him to reflect. "I’m just happy with the level I reached and how I raced. I’m glad I was even at the start line today."

To beat Van der Poel, everything needed to go perfectly from the start—but that didn’t happen. "I knew that to challenge Mathieu, it would all come down to the first half-lap, where a lot depends on luck. And the worst possible scenario happened. But I had already considered that this could happen."

During the first laps, Van Aert crashed, resulting in torn pants.

Van Aert doesn't blame his starting position: "There's no point complaining about it"

After his early setback, Van Aert had no choice but to start his comeback race. "The key was to stay calm and ride the best race possible—and I’m content with that." Van Aert had to settle for a fourth-row start, which meant he couldn’t react to Van der Poel’s opening attack. However, he had no complaints about that. "Those guys earned it by racing all season, and I made the choice to race less. So there’s no point complaining about it."

Van Aert will get another chance at his fourth world title in 2026, when the World Championships will be held in Hulst—a fact he was well aware of. "They were just standing on the podium with a flag!" he joked. For now, though, he can reflect on his performance in Liévin. "This was definitely my best cyclo-cross race of the winter. Apart from the start, which was out of my control, I delivered the performance I had aimed for."

Read also

At Alpecin-Deceuninck, they watch in awe as Van der Poel chases records and pushes through pain ahead of World Championships

Whether it’s a "Van Aert course" or not, Van der Poel doesn’t care: "That’s something from five or six years ago"

King Van der Poel crushes the competition at World Championships with embarrassingly hard start, Van Aert overcomes nightmare opening for silver

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