Mathieu van der Poel returns to the competition on Sunday in Zonhoven, and the first duel with great rival Wout van Aert will follow on Monday in Mol. The emphasis is on would, as Visma | Lease a Bike
suddenly communicated Sunday afternoon that the man from Herentals had fallen ill and would not compete in his home region.
ADVERTISEMENT
"Unfortunately, Wout van Aert has fallen ill and will not recover in time for tomorrow's race in Mol. We wish him a speedy recovery and hope to see him back in action soon," said Visma | Lease a Bike in a short press release. In theory, the next cyclo-cross race for Van Aert would be Loenhout on December 27, although Wout needs to recover first.
While this news appeared on the phones of the press present in Zonhoven, Van der Poel was still finishing his recon. The Dutch world champion went for an extra lap with Thibau Nys since he had only used his cyclo-cross bike twice before the race day. "That's why I went for a quick extra lap," he laughed beforehand.
ADVERTISEMENT
Read more below the photo!
Van der Poel disappointed that Van Aert will be absent
Once confronted with the news that his rival was skipping Mol, he seemed to doubt for a moment whether it was for real. "This is the first I heard of it,' responded Van der Poel, who realized it was the case. 'I think it's unfortunate, of course. Wout is always a fun opponent, and he also brings extra people, so that's a pity," the Alpecin-Deceuninck leader said to IDLProCycling.com, among others.
ADVERTISEMENT
Van der Poel will also appear at the start in Loenhout, so in theory, that could be the upcoming duel. Afterwards, the two also meet in Dendermonde on January 5 and Maasmechelen on January 26.
Bram van der Ploeg (35) is the proud founder of In de Leiderstrui, IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, launched in 2018. Finally, he could create stories about the sport he had followed since childhood. He is the editor-in-chief on paper, but prefers to be with his recorder next to a rider, a team bus, or in the mud at a cyclocross race. Every year, from February to the end of May, Bram follows the entire Italian cycling season, from the Trofeo Laigueglia to the Giro d'Italia, with the grand finale in October in Lombardy. During that time, he lives in Tuscany, where he has since come to call Italy his 'home'.
Unfortunately, Wout van Aert has fallen ill and will not recover in time for tomorrow's race in Mol. We wish him a speedy recovery and hope to see him back in action soon.