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.
"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.
"It's too bad, but I still had a successful day."
