Wout van Aert is disappointed with his World Championships: 'With 4 or 5 laps to go, I was already running out of steam'

Van Aert was one of the first riders to launch the final attack, accelerating with 90 kilometers to go. He was joined by Mathieu van der Poel, among others, and found himself in a group that seemed to have a good chance of winning. But the pace was too fast for him. After getting dropped, he decided to give it his all for Evenepoel. He ultimately crossed the finish line five minutes behind winner Brandon McNulty, in 28th place.

It wasn't the result he had hoped for going in. “It was really tough—too tough for me,” he sighed to Sporza afterward. “I rode a good race, but with four or five laps to go, I was already running out of steam. I’m bummed about it, but that was all I had.”

A grueling race was completed on the tough course in Montreal. Tadej Pogacar’s absence gave many riders hope of winning the world title. “The French made the race very tough. As I expected, it wouldn’t be easy for me to keep up on my own and pull something like that off. So I think it was good to be in the mix,” he says of his attack.

He found himself at the front with Van der Poel, Quinn Simmons, Anthon Charmig, Oscar Onley, and Primoz Roglic. “Mathieu also quickly showed that he was in great shape, so that worked out well. He was the right guy to ride with. Did that moment remind me of the Cyclocross World Championships? No, because at least that one was over after an hour,” Van Aert laughs.

In that strong group, however, he wasn’t the strongest. He was dropped fairly early on by a surge from Van der Poel. He made it back later, but had to drop off again. That’s when something clicked. “When I had to drop back at the front, all I could do was try to get Remco closer to the front of the race. I saw that he was one of the last favorites to rejoin the front group. That wasn’t a good sign.”

While Van Aert was considered one of the five top favourites, McNulty certainly was not. The American rode solo to a highly surprising world title, but the Belgian had kind words for the winner. “He’s a great champion. He may not be the most expected name, but within the peloton, he’s someone who’s never underestimated.”

After the World Championships, he’ll put his road bike aside for a while, but Van Aert does confirm that he’ll be back on the cyclocross course this winter. “I’ll definitely be back in the mud, but for now, the bike is going into the bike bag. A month of vacation, and then we’ll see what the new plans are.”