Wout van Aert overcame a stomach bug that delayed his cyclocross season debut and showed impressive form on Friday at the Exact Cross in Loenhout. However, a run-in with an inattentive spectator ruined his chances at landing on the podium behind solo winner Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck).
Van Aert was chasing with Laurens Sweeck (Crelan-Corendon) and Thibau Nys (Baloise-Trek) half a minute behind the world champion on the final lap when Nys overtook him in a turn, forcing Van Aert closer to the barriers where he collided with the fan and crashed.
"It certainly wasn't Thibau's fault - he did a nice manoeuvre to get to the front," Van Aert said according to Sporza.be. "Only I was on the outside of the bend. And there was a fan hanging completely over the course. Unfortunately, I came into contact with him.
"Too bad, because I could have ridden for second or third place. But hey, I'm happy with how it went. I had a successful day."
The Exact Cross round was Van Aert's first race since he suffered a knee injury in a crash during the Vuelta a España, and the first of just five planned competitions for the 'cross season.
After finishing on the podium in eight of nine races last year, Van Aert earned a front row start but lost positions as he struggled to clip into his pedal.
"I wanted to get off to a good start, but it took a long time before I got into my pedal," Van Aert explained. "I thought: this is already a bad start. But suddenly there was space on the left and so I unexpectedly dove into the field at the front."
The tight course and excitement for the arrival of a fan favourite into the 'kerstperiode' races made for a festive atmosphere, with a wave of deafening cheers following Van Aert around the circuit.
"I felt it," Van Aert said. "That felt good. I felt good in that first lap. But when Mathieu accelerated, I noticed that technically, I was really not good enough."
Van Aert was riding on the front before Van der Poel's winning move, but chose the wrong line in a turn and lost some ground. Sweeck managed to catch Van der Poel after the Dutchman had a mechanical but lost contact by the end of the third lap.
"Fortunately, I had a good partner in Thibau Nys. That's how we got back to Sweeck," Van Aert said.
The trio continued to push Van der Poel in the closing lap but the clash with the spectator knocked Van Aert out of the fight for the podium.
"It's too bad, but I still had a successful day."
