Large nail puncture leaves Wout Van Aert stranded, defeated at Clásica Jaén

Wout Van Aert at Clasica Jaen Paraiso Interior
Wout Van Aert at Clasica Jaen Paraiso Interior (Image credit: Getty Images)

A back wheel puncture at exactly the wrong moment in the Clásica Jaén left leading favourite Wout Van Aert stranded and - after fighting his misfortune tooth and nail - finally defeated in Spain’s top off-road event on Monday.

With around 53 kilometres to go at the start of one of the four gravel sectors, the Visma-Lease A Bike leader found himself standing on the side of the road, frantically changing tyres with teammate Per Strand Hagenes at a point where team cars were still some distance behind.

Alasdair Fotheringham

Alasdair Fotheringham has been reporting on cycling since 1991. He has covered every Tour de France since 1992 bar one, as well as numerous other bike races of all shapes and sizes, ranging from the Olympic Games in 2008 to the now sadly defunct Subida a Urkiola hill climb in Spain. As well as working for Cyclingnews, he has also written for The IndependentThe GuardianProCycling, The Express and Reuters.