2 of 2: Wout van Aert left no crumbs in Essen. The Belgian champion was Lord and Master of the Ethias Cross Tour, where the field of participants was not very good due to tomorrow’s trip to Italy. Thijs Aerts climbed to second, and Pim Ronhaar came third on the podium.
Just as with the women – although he was much more expected with Wout van Aert than he had with Zoe Bäckstedt – the favorite turned him into a solo show.
Van Aert drained the field in second place and the first to carry his bike to start running. There was a lot of walking in the mud. It was in the alley of the man of power, Van Aert.
Pim Ronhar joined Van Aert, but the Belgian immediately put the Dutchman under pressure. The difference in the first finish lane was just a second, after a rare Van Aert Ronhaar obstacle was briefly thrown into the lap.
But Ronhar lost it quickly: Van Aert ran away from the world champion’s promise. Ronhar is back on set with Thijs Aerts, Belmans, Loockx and Vermeersch.
Vermeersch who re-emerged after just under 5 laps gave up, had saved his ankle during the warm-up and the intense running didn’t help him.
Thijs Aerts saw his chance. Let’s return to the World Cup, Ton’s brother went to look for Van Aert. Although it was in vain, because that bird had already flown away.
Van Aert greeted his fans in the final round and won a 1’47” lead over Ayertes, which happily cheered the crowd on. The battle for 3rd and 4th places was even more exciting: Ronhar finished last on the podium, and Loockx beat Bellmans.
Off the podium, Van Aert was quick to take to Italy. He is the only outstanding player to double this weekend: tomorrow he will lead the World Cup in Val di Sol.
Van Aert: “Tomorrow for the first time in the snow since childhood”
“It was a tough race in a meadow razing,” Van Aert said after the crossover wasn’t a “walk in the park.”
“Of course I’m very satisfied with 2 out of 2. I was of course the top candidate, it’s a challenge to make that happen.”
He’s the only one who will also be driving tomorrow in Val di Sole after today: “We’ll see what that will be, but I think a lot of the jogging lanes are going to crawl anyway, so I definitely won’t have any advantage tomorrow.”
Tomorrow there will be no mud, but snow and ice. “Since I was a kid I’ve been really driving on snow. That was definitely not a thing at the time. But who knows, maybe that has changed in the meantime.”
Thijs Aerts: “Besides Van Aert on the podium, I could not have wished for something more beautiful”
Thijs Aerts was delighted with his second place, which he also showed at the end with a hand gesture: “To be on the podium next to Van Aert – one of the best riders in the world: I could not have wished for anything more beautiful.”
“Essen is a cross that I love to do. I was good at first and chose to walk, because driving, unlike recon, is no longer possible. Between the jogging lanes, I drove at high speed to make the difference.”
“It’s good to be on the podium. These opportunities are rare and so we have to seize them.”
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